Safety and adequacy of percutaneous kidney biopsy performed by nephrology trainees.

Background: Recently there has been a progressive loss of specialty related skills for nephrologists. Among the skills we find the kidney biopsy that has a central role in diagnosis of renal parenchymal disease. One of the causes might be the belief that the kidney biopsy should be performed only in larger Centers which can rely on the presence of a renal pathologist and on nephrologists with a large experience.

Inadequate Macronutrient and Micronutrient Intakes in Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis Patients: Data from a Seven-Day Weighed Dietary Record.

Background/aims: It is very important to assess the nutritional intake in patients on dialysis given the high prevalence of poor nutritional status of those in this population. The aim of this study was to assess nutrient intakes in hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients.

Methods: A clinical cross-sectional study was conducted over 7 days on 14 dialysis patients (98 days) who were trained to keep a weighed food record and a 7-day food diary.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis outcome measures and the role of albumin and creatinine: a population-based study.

Importance: There is an urgent need to identify reliable biomarkers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) progression for clinical practice and pharmacological trials.

Objectives: To correlate several hematological markers evaluated at diagnosis with ALS outcome in a population-based series of patients (discovery cohort) and replicate the findings in an independent validation cohort from an ALS tertiary center.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The discovery cohort included 712 patients with ALS from the Piemonte and Valle d'Aosta Register for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis from January 1, 2007, to December 31, 2011.

Prevalence of upper gastrointestinal symptoms and their influence on nutritional state and performance status in patients with different primary tumors receiving palliative care.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between gastrointestinal symptoms, nutritional balance, and performance status in patients receiving palliative care for advanced cancers originating in different sites. We studied a total of 105 patients. Upper gastrointestinal symptoms, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status score (ECOG-PS), dietary intakes, anthropometric measures, and some serum proteins were determined.