The impact of outpatient acute kidney injury on mortality and chronic kidney disease: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) has been extensively studied in hospital settings. Limited data exist regarding outcomes for patients with outpatient AKI who are not subsequently admitted. We investigated whether outpatient AKI, defined by a 50% increase in creatinine (Cr), is associated with increased mortality and renal events.

Clearance of cardiovascular medications during hemodialysis.

Purpose Of Review: To review the current understanding of hemodialysis-mediated clearance of commonly used cardiovascular medications.

Recent Findings: Although cardiovascular drug dialyzability is poorly understood, many drug classes appear to include agents with substantially different degrees of dialyzability. Recent data suggest that more readily dialyzable beta-blockers associate with higher short-term mortality in patients initiating these drugs when on hemodialysis.

Long-term survival of dialysis patients with bacterial endocarditis undergoing valvular replacement surgery in the United States.

Background: Bacterial endocarditis in dialysis patients is associated with high mortality rates. The literature is limited on the long-term outcomes of valvular replacement surgery and the choice of prosthesis in dialysis patients with bacterial endocarditis.

Methods And Results: Dialysis patients hospitalized for bacterial endocarditis from 2004 to 2007 were studied retrospectively using data from the United States Renal Data System.

Improving diabetes care in the uninsured: the success of the Access To Care program in Cook County, Illinois.

Previous studies have shown that the uninsured receive a lower level of care and that their uninsured status is a risk factor for poorly controlled diabetes mellitus (DM). The Access To Care (ATC) program in Cook County, Illinois provides care to uninsured individuals who do not qualify for other public aid. The aim of our study was to evaluate DM management at Loyola University Health System's ATC clinic.