Repairing and recovering broken peritoneal catheters.

Breakage of peritoneal catheters is an emergency of the technique that is uncommon but which requires immediate action when there is leakage of the dialysate and risk of infection. Early and adequate intervention can save broken catheters without interrupting peritoneal dialysis. We report our experience repairing damaged catheters using the Quinton® Peri-Patch repair kit (Quinton Instrument Co.

KIR gene variability in cutaneous malignant melanoma: influence of KIR2D/HLA-C pairings on disease susceptibility and prognosis.

Natural killer and CD8(+) T cells are believed to be involved in the immune protection against melanoma. Their function may be regulated by a group of receptors defined as killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) and their cognate HLA class I ligands. In this study, we analyzed the influence of KIR genes and KIR/HLA-I combinations on melanoma susceptibility and/or prognosis in a Spanish Caucasian population.