Renal function and short-term outcome in stable outpatients with coronary, cerebrovascular or peripheral artery disease.

Background: The influence of renal function on outcome in stable outpatients with atherosclerotic disease has not been thoroughly studied.

Methods: We used the FRENA Registry data to compare the incidence of subsequent ischemic events (myocardial infarction [MI], ischemic stroke or limb amputation) in patients with coronary (CAD), cerebrovascular (CVD) or peripheral artery disease (PAD), according to their estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at baseline.

Results: As of April 2012, 3860 patients were recruited in FRENA: 1439 with CAD, 1118 with CVD and 1303 with PAD.

Auditory maturity and hearing performance in inner ear malformations: a histological and electrical stimulation approach.

The objective of this study was to assess the auditory performance of the neural structures in response to controlled electrical stimulation period. A prospective cohort study focused on the intracochlear electrical stimulation parameters and hearing performance of patients suffering different cochlear malformations who were treated by cochlear implants constituted the study design. The study sample constituted 16 patients, suffering profound prelingual hearing impairment, diagnosed on the basis of radiological criteria as having an inner ear malformation, and who underwent cochlear implantation and were followed for 24 months.

Smoking cessation and outcome in stable outpatients with coronary, cerebrovascular, or peripheral artery disease.

Background: The influence of smoking cessation on outcome in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) has not been thoroughly studied.

Methods: FRENA is an ongoing registry of stable outpatients with symptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD), cerebrovascular disease (CVD), or PAD. We compared the mortality rate of those who quit vs.

Spectrum of acute renal failure in the intensive care unit: the PICARD experience.

Background: Acute renal failure (ARF) in the critically ill is associated with extremely high mortality rates. Understanding the changing spectrum of ARF will be necessary to facilitate quality improvement efforts and to design successful interventional trials.

Methods: We conducted an observational cohort study of 618 patients with ARF in intensive care units at five academic medical centers in the United States.

Reasons for non-enrollment in a cohort study of ARF: the Program to Improve Care in Acute Renal Disease (PICARD) experience and implications for a clinical trials network.

Background: Acute renal failure (ARF) is associated strongly with in-hospital mortality and morbidity. Previous clinical trials of ARF have been hampered by the heterogeneous population affected, difficulty defining ARF, delays in identification of ARF, and significant comorbid conditions, among other factors.

Methods: The Program to Improve Care in Acute Renal Disease (PICARD) phase I was a multicenter cohort study aimed to identify clinical characteristics and practice patterns associated with adverse and favorable outcomes in patients with ARF in intensive care units.

Diuretics, mortality, and nonrecovery of renal function in acute renal failure.

Context: Acute renal failure is associated with high mortality and morbidity. Diuretic agents continue to be used in this setting despite a lack of evidence supporting their benefit.

Objective: To determine whether the use of diuretics is associated with adverse or favorable outcomes in critically ill patients with acute renal failure.

Nephrology consultation in acute renal failure: does timing matter?

Purpose: Patients who develop acute renal failure in the intensive care unit (ICU) have extremely high rates of mortality and morbidity. The goals of this study were to identify correlates of the timing of nephrology consultation in acute renal failure, and to explore the relation between timing of consultation and outcomes.

Methods: We explored associations among timing of nephrology consultation and in-hospital mortality, lengths of hospital and ICU stay, and recovery of renal function in 215 ICU patients with acute renal failure at four U.

Refining predictive models in critically ill patients with acute renal failure.

Mortality rates in acute renal failure remain extremely high, and risk-adjustment tools are needed for quality improvement initiatives and design (stratification) and analysis of clinical trials. A total of 605 patients with acute renal failure in the intensive care unit during 1989-1995 were evaluated, and demographic, historical, laboratory, and physiologic variables were linked with in-hospital death rates using multivariable logistic regression. Three hundred and fourteen (51.