Resident foreign patients receive adequate dialysis but fewer preemptive transplantations: data from the Italian pediatric dialysis registry.

Background: Sociocultural issues play a key role in children needing kidney replacement therapy (KRT).

Methods: Data of incident patients < 18 years treated with chronic dialysis or preemptive kidney transplantation (pTx) between 2007 and 2016 were retrospectively collected from the Italian Pediatric Dialysis Registry; KRT modality and outcome were compared between patients with at least one non-Italian parent ("resident foreign patients," RFPs) and those from native parents ("domestic patients," DPs) and between the quinquennium 2007-2011 (period 1) and 2012-2016 (period 2).

Results: We included 448 children (26.

Haemodiafiltration use in children: data from the Italian Pediatric Dialysis Registry.

Background: High volume haemodiafiltration (HDF) is associated with better survival than conventional haemodialysis (HD) in adults, but data concerning its use in children are lacking. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of paediatric HDF use and its associated factors in recent years in Italy.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the files of patients from the Italian Pediatric Dialysis Registry's database who were registered between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2016 and treated with extracorporeal dialysis for at least 6 months, looking in particular at modality and its associated factors.

A propensity-matched comparison of hard outcomes in children on chronic dialysis.

Unlabelled: Data concerning outcomes of children on hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) are scarce and frequently derived from single-center experiences. We sought to compare survival and transplantation rates in a large cohort of PD and HD patients. We extracted all patients initiating dialysis under 16 years of age between 2004 and 2013 from the Italian Registry of Pediatric Chronic Dialysis.

Genetics of Vesicoureteral Reflux.

Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is the retrograde passage of urine from the bladder to the upper urinary tract. It is the most common congenital urological anomaly affecting 1-2% of children and 30-40% of patients with urinary tract infections. VUR is a major risk factor for pyelonephritic scarring and chronic renal failure in children.

Demographics of paediatric renal replacement therapy in Europe: a report of the ESPN/ERA-EDTA registry.

Background: The ESPN/ERA-EDTA Registry collects data on European children with end-stage renal disease receiving renal replacement therapy (RRT) who are listed on national and regional renal registries in Europe. In this paper we report on the analysis of demographic data collected from 2009 to 2011.

Methods: Data on primary renal disease, incidence, prevalence, 4-year survival, transplantation rate and causes of death in paediatric patients receiving RRT were extracted from the ESPN/ERA-EDTA Registry for 37 European countries.

Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis in paediatric peritoneal dialysis patients: the experience of the Italian Registry of Pediatric Chronic Dialysis.

Background: Paediatric literature about encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) is limited and comes primarily from anecdotic experiences. In this study, we described the incidence and characteristics of EPS in a large paediatric chronic peritoneal dialysis (CPD) patient population.

Methods: We reviewed files of patients starting CPD at <16 years of age, recorded from January 1986 to December 2011 by the Italian Registry of Pediatric Chronic Dialysis (n = 712).

Peritoneal dialysis in infants: the experience of the Italian Registry of Paediatric Chronic Dialysis.

Background: Although chronic peritoneal dialysis (CPD) is considered the replacement therapy of choice for infants with end-stage renal failure, many questions persist about treatment risks and outcomes.

Methods: We present data on 84 infants who started CPD at <1 year of age; these patients represent 12% of the total population of the Italian Registry of Paediatric Chronic Dialysis. We analysed patient records from all children consecutively treated with CPD between 1995 and 2007 in Italy.

Prescription of drugs blocking the renin-angiotensin system in Italian children.

Little is known about the prescription pattern of antihypertensive drugs for children with impaired kidney function. We have therefore documented the use of antihypertensive drugs in this patient group by evaluating the Italian pediatric population-based registry of patients with chronic kidney disease on conservative treatment (ItalKid) from 1995 to 2003. In 1995, prescriptions written for antihypertensive drugs for use by children were approximately equally divided among drugs blocking the renin-angiotensin system and calcium channel blockers (38 vs.

Phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity in Dent's disease--the results of an Italian collaborative study.

Background: Dent's disease is an inherited tubulopathy caused by CLCN5 gene mutations. While a typical phenotype characterized by low-molecular-weight (LMW) proteinuria, hypercalciuria, nephrocalcinosis, nephrolithiasis, rickets and progressive renal failure in various combinations often enables a clinical diagnosis, less severe sub-clinical cases may go under-diagnosed.

Methods: By single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis and direct sequencing, we screened 40 male patients from 40 unrelated families for CLCN5 gene mutations.

The distribution of DQ genes in the Saharawi population provides only a partial explanation for the high celiac disease prevalence.

Celiac disease (CD) is a multifactorial disorder of the small intestine caused by a permanent dietary intolerance to gluten. The combined presence of the HLA class II DQA1*0501 and DQB1*0201 alleles represents the major genetic component for disease predisposition. It has been shown that the Saharawi refugees living in northern Africa have a very high frequency of CD.

Middle molecule and small protein removal in children on peritoneal dialysis.

Background: Dialysis efficiency has a great influence on the outcome of patients. Few data are available on the removal of solutes with molecular weights higher than urea and creatinine. The aim of our study was to assess the transport and the removal of substances with molecular weights up to 15 kD and to evaluate the contribution of residual renal function in peritoneal dialysis (PD) children.

Coeliac disease: a potentially treatable health problem of Saharawi refugee children.

Objective: To characterize the clinical and nutritional impact of coeliac disease (gluten-sensitive enteropathy) among Saharawi children living as refugees in Algeria.

Methods: A total of 65 Saharawi children with coeliac disease were compared with 71 age-matched non-coeliac controls. For each participant, the clinical history was taken and a clinical examination, non-quantitative 24-hour dietary recall, anthropometric and skinfold measurements, bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) of body composition, and venous blood sampling for haemoglobin determination were performed.

Compliance with gluten-free diet in adolescents with screening-detected celiac disease: a 5-year follow-up study.

After 5 years of treatment, 22 patients with celiac disease, diagnosed by means of serologic mass screening (mean age, 17.9 years), showed a lower compliance with a gluten-free diet and frequent positivity of serum anti-endomysium antibodies (32%) in comparison with a group of 22 age-matched patients diagnosed because of "typical" symptoms during childhood.

Why is coeliac disease endemic in the people of the Sahara?

The prevalence of antiendomysial antibody (AEA) in 989 Saharawi children was 5.6%. Intestinal biopsies in a subsample confirmed that AEA is a marker of coellac disease in people living in a developing country.

Is the sugar intestinal permeability test a reliable investigation for coeliac disease screening?

Background: The lactulose/mannitol (L/M) intestinal permeability test is a simple, non-invasive screening test for coeliac disease. The reliability of the L/M test has so far only been tested in selected groups of patients with coeliac disease.

Aim: To evaluate the reliability of the L/M test in a group of patients with coeliac disease who had been diagnosed during mass serological screening of the general population.

Dietary compliance in screening-detected coeliac disease adolescents.

In 1992-94 we screened 6315 students for coeliac disease (CD) by testing antigliadin antibodies (AGA) as the first-level investigation. We found 28 biopsy-proven coeliac patients who were invited to start the gluten-free diet (GFD). The aim of this study was a clinical and laboratory follow-up in these screening-detected coeliac adolescents.

The coeliac iceberg in Italy. A multicentre antigliadin antibodies screening for coeliac disease in school-age subjects.

Background: Recent studies suggest that coeliac disease (CD) is one of the commonest, life-long disorders in Italy. The aims of this multicentre work were: (a) to establish the prevalence of CD on a nationwide basis; and (b) to characterize the CD clinical spectrum in Italy.

Patients And Methods: Fifteen centres screened 17,201 students aged 6-15 years (68.

High prevalence of undiagnosed coeliac disease in 5280 Italian students screened by antigliadin antibodies.

Many cases of coeliac disease are currently undiagnosed. We carried out a pilot study on screening for coeliac disease in a school population. The screening protocol consisted of three parts: (1) IgG and IgA antigliadin antibody (AGA) assay; (2) antiendomysium antibody and total serum IgA determinations; (3) jejunal biopsy.

Coeliac disease in the year 2000: exploring the iceberg.

It is now generally believed that subclinical coeliac disease is common in the general population. We have undertaken screening for this disorder in a school district in central Italy. Screening was divided into three levels: first, IgG and IgA antigliadin antibody (AGA) assay on capillary blood obtained by finger prick; second, AGA plus IgA anti-endomysium antibody (AEA) test and measurement of serum immunoglobulins in venous blood; and third, intestinal biopsy.

Dose dependent effects of protracted ingestion of small amounts of gliadin in coeliac disease children: a clinical and jejunal morphometric study.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of chronic ingestion of small amounts of gliadin on children with coeliac disease. A four week challenge was performed on 20 children who had been on a gluten free diet for mean (SD) 14 (3) months. They were given a daily dose of either 100 mg (group A, n = 10, mean age 4 (2) years) or 500 mg of gliadin (group B, mean age 5 (3) years).

Energy and nutrient intake of patients with mild-to-moderate chronic renal failure compared with healthy children: an Italian multicentre study.

Nutritional counselling is important in the management of children with chronic renal failure (CRF). In 1988, a controlled European multicentre study was started to evaluate the effects of a low-protein diet on the progression of CRF in children. To assess the energy, macro- and micronutrient intake, 4-day weighed dietary records were obtained from 50 children with low to moderate CRF (creatinine clearance 65 to 15 ml/min per 1.