Early detection of prostate cancer in the ESRD population.

Background: There are currently no prostate cancer screening guidelines specific to the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) population. With this in mind, we evaluated the clinical usefulness of digital rectal examination (DRE), serum total prostate-specific antigen (PSA), prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD) and transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) in predicting prostate cancer in men with ESRD.

Methods: Fifty male ESRD patients age 40 years and older with no prior history of prostate cancer were enrolled in the study.

Comparison of vancomycin versus cefazolin as initial therapy for peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis patients.

The incidence of peritonitis ranges from 1 episode every 24 patient treatment months to 1 episode every 60 patient treatment months [Keane WF, et al. ISPD Guidelines/Recommendations. Adult peritoneal dialysis-related peritonitis treatment recommendations: 2000 update.

Effect of biocompatibility of hemodialysis membranes on serum albumin levels.

Hypoalbuminemia in end-stage renal disease is a marker of high morbidity and mortality. In some patients, the cause of low serum albumin levels is easily identified and therefore treatable, but in many patients, the cause is not clear. We studied the effect of changing the dialysis membrane from a bioincompatible to a biocompatible membrane on serum albumin level.

Extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma in a kidney transplant patient.

Organ transplant recipients are prone to develop a variety of malignancies, most of which are encountered uncommonly in the general population. Approximately 5% to 7% of these malignancies are sarcomas, of which most are Kaposi's sarcomas. Ewing's sarcoma is an extremely uncommon tumor in organ transplant recipients, and only one case of skeletal Ewing's sarcoma has been reported in the transplant literature.