P2Y12 Inhibitors Refill Gap Predicts Death in Medicare Beneficiaries on Chronic Dialysis.

Introduction: Oral P2Y inhibitors (P2Y12-I) are commonly used antiplatelet drugs in patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) on chronic dialysis. Although gaps in prescription refills are quite common in patients with ESKD, it remains unclear whether P2Y12-I prescription refill patterns are associated with adverse clinical outcomes.

Methods: We used the United States Renal Data System (USRDS) registry for patients with ESKD to capture new P2Y12-I prescriptions from 2011 to 2015.

Renal Biomarkers in Heart Failure: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Cystatin C, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), and kidney injury molecule (KIM)-1 are renal biomarkers increasingly appreciated for their role in the risk stratification and prognostication of heart failure (HF) patients. However, very few have been adopted clinically, owing to the lack of consistency.

Objectives: The authors aimed to study the association between cystatin C, NGAL, and KIM-1 and outcomes, mortality, hospitalizations, and worsening renal function (WRF) in patients with acute and chronic HF.

Platelets, inflammation, and purinergic receptors in chronic kidney disease.

Platelets are anucleated cells that circulate in the bloodstream. Historically, platelets were thought to perform a singular function-stop bleeding via clotting. Although platelets do play a key role in hemostasis and thrombosis, recent studies indicate that platelets also modulate inflammation, and this platelet-induced inflammation contributes to the pathophysiology of various diseases such as atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus.

Updates on New Therapies for Patients with CKD.

Individuals diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD) continue to increase globally. This group of patients experience a disproportionately higher risk of cardiovascular (CV) events compared to the general population. Despite multiple guidelines-based medical management, patients with CKD continue to experience residual cardiorenal risk.

Ticagrelor inhibits platelet aggregation and reduces inflammatory burden more than clopidogrel in patients with stages 4 or 5 chronic kidney disease.

Background: No study has compared pharmacologic properties of ticagrelor and clopidogrel in non-dialysis patients with stage 4-5 chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods: We conducted a double-blind RCT to compare effects of ticagrelor and clopidogrel in 48 CKD, with the primary outcome of ADP-induced platelet aggregation (WBPA) after 2 weeks of DAPT. In a parallel arm, we compared effects of 2 weeks of ticagrelor plus aspirin on mean changes in WBPA and markers of thromboinflammation among non-CKD controls (n = 26) with that of CKD in the ticagrelor-arm.

Platelet-Dependent Inflammatory Dysregulation in Patients with Stages 4 or 5 Chronic Kidney Disease: A Mechanistic Clinical Study.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is characterized by dysregulated inflammation that worsens with CKD severity. The role of platelets in modulating inflammation in stage 4 or 5 CKD remains unexplored. We investigated whether there are changes in platelet-derived thromboinflammatory markers in CKD with dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT; aspirin 81 mg/d plus P2Y12 inhibitor).

Age Modifies Intracranial and Gastrointestinal Bleeding Risk from P2Y Inhibitors in Patients Receiving Dialysis.

Background: Individuals aged ≥75 years are the fastest-growing population starting dialysis for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) due to living longer with coronary artery disease. ESKD alone can increase bleeding risk, but P2Y inhibitor (P2Y12-I) antiplatelet medications prescribed for cardiovascular treatment can exacerbate this risk in patients with ESKD. The age-specific rates of bleeding complications in dialysis patients with ESKD on P2Y12-I remain unclear, as does how age modifies the bleeding risk from P2Y12-I use in these patients.

Accurate Medication Adherence Measurement Using Administrative Data for Frequently Hospitalized Patients.

Pharmacy administrative claims data remain an accessible and efficient source to measure medication adherence for frequently hospitalized patient populations that are systematically excluded from the landmark drug trials. Published pharmacotherapy studies use medication possession ratio (MPR) and proportion of days covered (PDC) to calculate medication adherence and usually fail to incorporate hospitalization and prescription overlap/gap from claims data. To make the cacophony of adherence measures clearer, this study created a refined hospital-adjusted algorithm to capture pharmacotherapy adherence among patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Oral P2Y12 Inhibitors in Patients on Chronic Dialysis.

Introduction: Although oral P2Y inhibitors (P2Y12-Is) are one of the most commonly prescribed medication classes in patients with end stage kidney disease on dialysis (ESKD), scarce data exist regarding their benefits and risks.

Methods: We compared effectiveness and safety of clopidogrel, prasugrel, and ticagrelor in a longitudinal study using the United States Renal Data System registry of Medicare beneficiaries with ESKD. Individuals who filled new P2Y12-I prescriptions between 2011 and 2015 were included and followed until death or censoring.

Role of Platelets in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Platelet-dependent mechanisms for excessive clotting and bleeding in CKD remain undefined. Moreover, platelets' contribution to inflammation, and specifically to CKD, are equally elusive. To date, descriptions of changes in the functional properties of circulating platelets during CKD have provided confusing interpretations.

Trends for and Clinical Factors Associated with Choice of Oral P2Y Inhibitors for Patients on Chronic Dialysis.

Background: Trends and clinical factors associated with prescribing choices for oral P2Y12 inhibitors (P2Y12-I) remain unknown for patients on chronic dialysis, i.e., with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

Association of platelet function with depression and its treatment with sertraline in patients with chronic kidney disease: analysis of a randomized trial.

Background: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) can lead to adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Although one of the proposed mechanisms is heightened platelet activation, effects of MDD and its treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) on platelet function in patients with CKD remain unclear.

Methods: In a pre-specified analysis, changes from baseline to 12 weeks in whole blood platelet aggregation (WBPA) and plasma levels of E-selectin and P-selectin on treatment with sertraline vs.

Warfarin in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation-Time for a change?

Warfarin is the most commonly prescribed anticoagulant in hemodialysis (HD) patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Recent trends show that Nephrologists are increasingly prescribing novel oral anticoagulants, despite the fact that no randomized clinical trials have been conducted in dialysis patients. Difficulties maintaining international normalized ratio in the therapeutic range, increased risk of intracranial hemorrhage and concerns regarding warfarin-induced vascular calcification and calciphylaxis may be responsible.

Fatigue in Nondialysis Chronic Kidney Disease: Correlates and Association with Kidney Outcomes.

Background: Fatigue, although common and associated with outcomes in dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (CKD), has not been studied in nondialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD-ND) patients.

Methods: In this longitudinal cohort of 266 outpatients with CKD-ND stages 2-5, we measured self-reported fatigue on 3 scales-Quick Inventory of Depression Symptomatology-Self Report (QIDS-SR16), Beck Depression Inventory-I (BDI-I), and short form 12 health survey (SF-12) questionnaires and evaluated the prespecified composite of progression to dialysis initiation, death, or hospitalization after 12 months. Logistic and linear regression assessed characteristics associated with fatigue.

Clinical Pharmacology of Oral Anticoagulants in Patients with Kidney Disease.

Oral anticoagulants are commonly used drugs in patients with CKD and patients with ESKD to treat atrial fibrillation to reduce stroke and systemic embolism. Some of these drugs are used to treat or prevent deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in patients with CKD who undergo knee and hip replacement surgeries. Warfarin is the only anticoagulant that is approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration in individuals with mechanical heart valves.

Prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease, Thrombotic Cardiovascular Events, and Use of Oral P2Y12 Inhibitors among Veterans.

Background: Contemporary prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and thrombotic cardiovascular (CV) events remains unclear in Veterans enrolled in the Veterans Affairs Health Care System (VA) care. Although oral P2Y12 inhibitors (P2Y12i) are increasingly being prescribed to this patient population, the overall prescription trend for P2Y12i remains unclear.

Methods: Using national VA corporate warehouse data, we used International Classification of Diseases-9 codes to identify Veterans with CKD, dialysis-dependent CKD, and CV events.

Effect of Sertraline on Depressive Symptoms in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease Without Dialysis Dependence: The CAST Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is prevalent among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is associated with morbidity and mortality. The efficacy and adverse events of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in these patients are unknown.

Objective: To determine whether treatment with sertraline improves depressive symptoms in patients with CKD and MDD.

Effect Modification of Chronic Kidney Disease on the Association of Circulating and Imaging Cardiac Biomarkers With Outcomes.

Background: Cardiac troponin T and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) are elevated in >50% of dialysis patients and are associated with poor outcomes. Few data investigated these associations in earlier chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods And Results: We studied whether CKD modified associations of elevated BNP, N-terminal-pro-BNP, high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T, coronary artery calcification, and left ventricular hypertrophy with all-cause death and cardiovascular death/events in 3218 multiethnic individuals followed for 12.

Hungry bone syndrome.

Purpose Of Review: In the United States, the number of parathyroidectomies among patients with chronic dialysis has remained stable in the last decade. A fall in serum calcium concentration is common postparathyroidectomy in patients with hyperparathyroidism, which usually resolves in 2-4 days. A severe drop in serum total calcium concentration less than 2.

Prognostic Utility of a Self-Reported Depression Questionnaire versus Clinician-Based Assessment on Renal Outcomes.

Background: The prognostic utility of self-administered depression scales in chronic kidney disease (CKD) independent of a clinician-based major depressive disorder (MDD) diagnosis is neither clearly established nor are the optimal cutoff scores for predicting outcomes. The overlap between symptoms of depression and chronic disease raises the question of whether a cutoff score on a depression scale can be substituted for a time-consuming diagnostic interview to prognosticate risk.

Methods: The 16-item Quick Inventory of Depression Symptomatology-Self Report scale (QIDS-SR16) was administered to 266 consecutive outpatients with non-dialysis CKD, followed prospectively for 12 months for an apriori composite outcome of death or dialysis or hospitalization.