Publications by authors named "Nicole Stankus"

Article Synopsis
  • Daprodustat is being tested as an oral alternative to traditional ESAs for treating anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease starting dialysis, with limited past studies on this topic.
  • The clinical trial involved a randomized, open-label design across 90 centers in 14 countries, focusing on patients who were either set to begin dialysis soon or had started within the last 90 days.
  • The main goal was to compare the effectiveness and safety of daprodustat to darbepoetin alfa by assessing changes in hemoglobin levels and monitoring adverse events over a treatment period of 28 to 52 weeks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: African Americans in the general population have been shown to be less likely than White ethnic groups to participate in advance care planning; however, advance care planning in the population receiving dialysis has not been well explored.

Objective: We examined the prevalence of African American patients receiving haemodialysis' advance care planning discussions, and whether advance care planning impacts end-of-life care preferences.

Design: In-person interviewer-administered surveys of African American patients receiving in-centre haemodialysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Dialysis patients aged ≥70 years derive improved life expectancy through kidney transplantation compared to their waitlisted counterparts, but guidelines are not clear about how to identify appropriate transplantation candidates. We developed a clinical prediction score to identify elderly dialysis patients with expected 5-year survival appropriate for kidney transplantation (>5 years).

Methods: Incident dialysis patients in 2006-2009 aged ≥70 were identified from the United States Renal Data System database and divided into derivation and validation cohorts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Sickle cell nephropathy is a common complication in patients with sickle cell hemoglobinopathies. In these disorders, polymerization of mutated hemoglobin S results in deformation of red blood cells, which can cause endothelial cell injury in the kidney that may lead to thrombus formation when severe or manifest by multilayering of the basement membranes (glomerular and/or peritubular capillaries) in milder forms of injury. As the injury progresses, the subsequent ischemia, tubular dysfunction, and glomerular scarring can result in CKD or ESRD.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: This multicenter international cross-sectional observational study characterized vascular and valvular calcification burden and correlations with pulse pressure, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases in prevalent hemodialysis patients.

Methods: We enrolled 275 consecutive adults with end-stage renal disease on maintenance hemodialysis for ⩾3 months. Coprimary endpoints were prevalences of: (1) echocardiographic calcification in mitral valve, aortic valve or mitral annulus; (2) aortoiliac tree vascular calcifications by plain lateral lumbar X-ray.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Although chronic kidney disease (CKD) disproportionately affects older adults, they are less likely to be referred to a nephrologist. Factors that influence the referral decisions of primary care providers (PCPs) specifically for older CKD patients have been incompletely described. Patient factors such as dementia, functional disability, and co-morbidity may complicate the decision to refer an older adult.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hepatitis B infections are a distinct clinical problem in hemodialysis patients. Naturally acquired antibodies from a prior hepatitis B virus infection generally are considered to be immunoprotective for subsequent infections. We describe a new-onset hepatitis B virus infection in a hemodialysis patient despite persistent protective levels of naturally acquired antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a growing public health concern that overwhelmingly affects older adults. National guidelines have called for earlier referral of CKD patients, but it is unclear how these should apply to older adults.

Objective: This scholarly review aims to explore the current literature about upstream referral decisions for CKD within the context of decisions about initiation of dialysis and general referral decisions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Long-term outcomes of combined cinacalcet and paricalcitol therapy for secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) in patients failing traditional therapies with phosphate binders and active vitamin D compound analogs are not well described. We implemented a titration protocol for cinacalcet and paricalcitol and assessed its long-term effects on bone metabolism and disease in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Thirty-five patients were started on 30 mg of cinacalcet daily.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

If nephrolithiasis (NL) promotes progression to end stage renal disease (ESRD), requiring renal replacement therapy, one might expect a higher prevalence of pre-ESRD stones among ESRD versus non-ESRD subjects. We compared the prevalence of pre-ESRD stones in an African-American (AA) hemodialysis (HD) population to the estimated stone prevalence in a nationally representative cohort of AA persons as obtained by the Third National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES III). Face-to-face questionnaires were administered to a sample of 300 AA HD patients undergoing dialysis therapy at the University of Chicago to determine pre-ESRD NL prevalence.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cinacalcet is a type II calcimimetic approved for treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with end-stage renal disease. It is generally well tolerated with the most common side effects being nausea and vomiting. Symptomatic hypocalcemia is rare, and persistent hypocalcemia has not been reported to date.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The authors measured urine and blood stone risk factors in African-American (AA) haemodialysis (HD) patients with new onset of stones during dialysis.

Methods: Patients with nephrolithiasis (NL) newly manifested during dialysis were matched by age, sex and urine output and dialysis duration to AA HD patients without history or symptoms of stones. Two 24 h urine and serum samples were collected and analysed for conventional stone risk factors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF