Psychological nursing support for elderly patients undergoing chronic regular haemodialysis.

The elderly constitute a continuously increasing social group of the Hellenic, but also of the global population. This phenomenon is also evident in the haemodialysis patient population, which grows continually. Faced with this reality, Nursing is obliged to adapt itself and, in this effort that it is putting forward it has achieved many positive steps (geriatric nursing).

Changes of arterio-venous differences in pH and pCO2 by hemodialysis.

Normally the differences in arterial-venous pH (A-VpH) and veno-arterial pCO2 (V-ApCO2) are small and constant. This study deals with A-VpH and V-ApCO2 and their effect on arterial-venous saturation hemoglobin percentage (A-VSHb%) in uremic patients under hemodialysis (HD). In 17 uremic patients under HD with acetate, blood samples were collected anaerobically in heparinized syringes from artery (fistula) and vein (forearm without fistula) pre- and post-HD.

Ocular findings in patients with successful renal transplantation.

Successful renal transplantation has a favourable effect on the development of ocular disorders in periodic haemodialysis patients. Certain complications arise in the eyes of the recipients and are attributed mainly to the immunosuppressive medication. The purpose of our study was the recording of the ocular complications in patients with successful renal transplants after long-term stabilization of renal function and immunosuppressive therapy.

Hormonal and ultrasound characteristics of menstrual function during chronic hemodialysis and after successful renal transplantation.

The cycles of 11 renal transplant recipients (RTR), at least 24 months after stabilization of graft function and four hemodialyzed (HD) patients, menstruating regularly, were evaluated by concurrent and systematic determinations throughout the cycle of LH, FSH, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, prolactin and SHBG and in the case of RTR also by ultrasound follow-up. Biphasic estradiol secretion, midcycle LH and FSH surge, duration of luteal phase, midluteal progesterone values and in the case of RTR, ultrasonic parameters were consistent with: (1) normal ovulatory cycles in five RTR; (2) ovulatory cycles with luteal phase deficiency in five RTR and two HD patients; (3) anovulatory cycles in one RTR and two HD patients. Thus, in HD patients only abnormal cycles of central etiology were found, while in RTR, luteal phase deficiency was a very common syndrome, in equal percentage with normal ovulatory cycles.