Excellent outcomes with expanded criteria donor kidneys: the role of the recipient's age.

At the present time, the number of deceased donor kidney transplants performed annually has remained unchanged for 4 years. Desire for standard criteria donor (SCD) kidneys by recipients, coupled with high discard rates of donor kidneys, contributes to a lack of procedures being performed. A subgroup of recipients, those under age 50, may fare as well with an expanded criteria donor (ECD) allograft as those who receive an SCD kidney.

Deceased-donor kidney transplantation: improvement in long-term survival.

Background: Despite marked improvement in short-term renal allograft survival rates (GSR) in recent years, improvement in long-term GSR remained elusive.

Methods: We analysed the kidney transplant experience at our centre accrued over four decades to evaluate how short-term and long-term GSR had changed and to identify risk factors affecting graft survival. The study included 1476 adult recipients of a deceased-donor kidney transplant who were transplanted between 1963 and 2006 and who had received one of five distinct immunosuppressive protocols.

Pharmacokinetics of rosuvastatin in patients with end-stage kidney disease undergoing peritoneal dialysis.

Patients undergoing dialysis treatment have a high incidence of dyslipidemia. Rosuvastatin is a potent statin drug that improves overall lipid profiles in dyslipidemic patients. However, the pharmacokinetics of rosuvastatin has not been studied in patients with end-stage kidney disease undergoing chronic peritoneal dialysis (PD).

Cause for inadequate clearance: hemodialysis catheter migration into the coronary sinus.

Complications associated with central dialysis catheters prove to be an important source of morbidity that challenge patients and clinicians alike. While thrombosis, stenosis, and infection remain the most common threats to functioning central dialysis catheters, malposition of such devices may similarly result in serious consequences. Despite advanced techniques used to confirm initial catheter placement, the very nature of these catheters entails frequent manipulation for vascular access and therefore they may migrate after repeated use.

Long-term intravenous sodium thiosulfate in the treatment of a patient with calciphylaxis.

Calciphylaxis is a disabling and life-threatening complication that primarily affects patients who are dialysis dependent. This disease entity is characterized by calcification, intimal hypertrophy, and thrombosis of small vessels, which results in necrotizing, nonhealing ulcers. The development of these lesions portends a grim prognosis, as they are often accompanied by severe and sometimes fatal infectious complications.