Effect of single-pill versus free equivalent combinations on persistence and major adverse cardiovascular events in hypertension: a real-world analysis.

Objectives: Hypertension guidelines recommend the use of single-pill combinations (SPCs) of antihypertensive drugs to improve treatment persistence and blood pressure control. This study aimed to investigate the long-term effects of ramipril/amlodipine (R/A) SPC versus free equivalent dose combinations (FEC) on cardiovascular outcomes and treatment persistence.

Methods: This retrospective, observational study analysed the database of the Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund.

Association of Uric Acid-Lowering Therapy With Incident Chronic Kidney Disease.

Importance: Uric acid is a waste metabolite produced from the breakdown of purines, and elevated serum uric acid levels are associated with higher risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and mortality and progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Treatment of hyperuricemia in patients with preexisting CKD has not been shown to improve kidney outcomes, but the associations of uric acid-lowering therapies with the development of new-onset kidney disease in patients with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) within reference range and no albuminuria is unclear.

Objective: To examine the association of initiating uric acid-lowering therapy with the incidence of CKD.

Circulating Microbial Signatures and Cardiovascular Death in Patients With ESRD.

Introduction: Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) experience disproportionately high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Accumulating evidence suggests a role for the circulating microbiome in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease; however, little is known about its association with premature cardiovascular mortality in ESRD.

Methods: In a pilot case-control study of 17 hemodialysis patients who died of a cardiovascular event and 17 matched hemodialysis controls who remained alive during a median follow-up of 2.

Cannabis Use and Risk of Acute Kidney Injury in Patients with Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease Transitioning to Dialysis.

The current social and legal landscape is likely to foster the medicinal and recreational use of cannabis. Synthetic cannabinoid use is associated with acute kidney injury (AKI) in case reports; however, the association between natural cannabis use and AKI risk in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unknown. From a nationally representative cohort of 102,477 U.

Association of dyskalemias with short-term health care utilization in patients with advanced CKD.

Patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at high risk for dyskalemias, which may induce arrhythmias that require immediate emergent or hospital care. The association of dyskalemias with short-term hospital/emergency room (ER) visits in advanced CKD is understudied. To assess the association of dyskalemias with short-term hospital/ER visits in an advanced CKD population.