Determinants and outcomes of access-related blood-stream infections among Irish haemodialysis patients; a cohort study.

Background: Infections are the second leading cause of death and hospitalisation among haemodialysis (HD) patients. Rates of access-related bloodstream infections (AR-BSI) are influenced by patient characteristics and local protocols. We explored factors associated with AR-BSI in a contemporary cohort of HD patients at a tertiary nephrology centre.

Sweet syndrome: a rare feature of ANCA-associated vasculitis or unusual consequence of azathioprine-induced treatment.

Background: Sweet syndrome is a rare skin condition characterised by fever, neutrophilia, and tender erythematous skin lesions and has been reported to occur in association with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) as well as complicate treatment with azathioprine therapy. Azathioprine, a relatively safe immunosuppressive, is frequently used to maintain disease remission in the treatment of ANCA-associated vasculitis. The occurrence of Sweet syndrome in a patient with ANCA-positive vasculitis and following treatment with azathioprine prompted us to present this clinical case and share this unusually rare occurrence.