Successful Endovascular Treatment of Postbiopsy AVF in Transplanted Kidneys: Lessons Learned from Two Cases in Multiorgan Transplant Recipients.

Allograft biopsy is a cornerstone in the management of transplanted kidneys. It is a safe procedure, often performed in the outpatient setting. A rare complication is formation of a postbiopsy arteriovenous fistula (AVF).

2-Step Scores with optional nephropathology for the prediction of adverse outcomes for brain-dead donor kidneys in Eurotransplant.

Background: The decision to accept or discard the increasingly rare and marginal brain-dead donor kidneys in Eurotransplant (ET) countries has to be made without solid evidence. Thus, we developed and validated flexible clinicopathological scores called 2-Step Scores for the prognosis of delayed graft function (DGF) and 1-year death-censored transplant loss (1y-tl) reflecting the current practice of six ET countries including Croatia and Belgium.

Methods: The training set was n = 620 for DGF and n = 711 for 1y-tl, with validation sets n = 158 and n = 162, respectively.

Influence of a Static Magnetic Field on the ⟨100⟩ Growth Rates of Sodium Chlorate Crystals from Aqueous Solution.

The results of the study of the influence of a static magnetic field of 55 ± 3 mT on the growth rates of diamagnetic sodium chlorate crystals in the direction ⟨100⟩ will be presented. Two groups of experiments were performed in the same solution supersaturation range of 0.89-1.

Coexistence of Different Growth Mechanisms of Sodium Chlorate under the Same Experimental Conditions.

Dependence of growth rates of {100} sodium chlorate crystal faces on solution supersaturation in the range of 0.44-1.32% was analyzed.

Liver Graft Failure and Bile Cast Nephropathy.

The consequences of graft failure after liver transplantation (LT) range far beyond the liver. The kidneys are often affected, where persistent and progressive cholestasis can result in acute kidney injury (AKI) leading to the development of bile cast nephropathy (BCN). BCN is an often unrecognized condition that is characterized by proximal tubulopathy and the formation of bile casts in the distal tubules, which is almost diagnosed exclusively on a kidney biopsy or autopsy.

Tunnelled haemodialysis catheter and haemodialysis outcomes: a retrospective cohort study in Zagreb, Croatia.

Objectives: Studies have reported that the tunnelled dialysis catheter (TDC) is associated with inferior haemodialysis (HD) patient survival, in comparison with arteriovenous fistula (AVF). Since many cofactors may also affect survival of HD patients, it is unclear whether the greater risk for survival arises from TDC per se, or from associated conditions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine, in a multivariate analysis, the long-term outcome of HD patients, with respect to vascular access (VA).

Effect of mycophenolate mofetil on progression of interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy after kidney transplantation: a retrospective study.

Objectives: Chronic transplant dysfunction after kidney transplantation is a major reason of kidney graft loss and is caused by immunological and non-immunological factors. There is evidence that mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) may exert a positive effect on renal damage in addition to immunosuppression, by its direct antifibrotic properties. The aim of our study was to retrospectively investigate the role of MMF doses on progression of chronic allograft dysfunction and fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IF/TA).

[Tunneled dialysis catheters placement program in Clinical Hospital Merkur].

Introduction: Tunneled dialysis catheters are one of the methods for vascular access in hemodialysis patients. In the Clinical Hospital Merkur placement of tunneled dialysis catheters was started in 2007. The aim of this study was to analyze results of that program.

Treatment of bleeding after kidney biopsy with recombinant activated factor VII.

Recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) is approved for prevention and treatment of bleeding in hemophilia patients with inhibitors to FVIII (hemophilia A) or IX (hemophilia B), patients with congenital and acquired hemophilia and in patients with FVII deficiency or Glantzmann thrombasthenia (last indication is approved only in Europe). Off-labeled, the drug has been prescribed for prevention, or treatment of bleeding in severe hepatic disease, neonatal coagulopathies, high-risk surgical procedures, trauma, thrombocytopenia and platelet function disorders, as well as for urgent reversal of oral anticoagulation. Here we report a case of a 53-year-old female patient with delayed graft function after kidney transplantation, who had kidney biopsy complicated with prolonged bleeding.

The role of pelvic MRI in assesment of combined surgical and infliximab treatment for perianal Crohn's disease.

Aim: To evaluate the role of pelvic MRI in diagnosis and assesment of combined surgical and infliximab treatment of perianal Crohn's disease (PACD).

Method: 24 patients with signs of PACD were prospectively evaluated. They were previously treated with azathyoprin for a period of 6 months to 7 years and antibiotics and than started on Infliximab 5 mg/kg (IFX) at 0, 2 and 6 weeks induction protocol.

[Subtypes of serum hepatitis B antigen].

Rheophoresis improved gel diffusion technique was used for the determination of subtypes of HB antigen (HBAg) according to D (ad + y) and Y (ay +, d--) specificity. Although the relative small number of carriers of antigen was investigated, it seems that the distribution of subtypes is somewhat different from the results found by the american and scandinavian autors and is more similar to the results of Hadziyannis (Greece) and Mosley in Israel. The specifity of serum containing HB antibodies was also investigated.