The impact of diabetes mellitus on peritoneal dialysis: the Turkey Multicenter Clinic Study.

Purpose: It is well established that diabetic peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients have a higher mortality rate than the other PD population. This study was designed to determine the overall predictors of survival and compared mortality and morbidity between diabetic and non-diabetic Turkish PD patients.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter retrospective study with 915 PD patients [217 had diabetes mellitus (DM)].

Candidal psoas abscess following persistent pyuria in a renal transplant recipient.

Candidal infections occur commonly in renal transplant recipients especially in genitourinary system. Although the epidemiology of candiduria has not been well characterized in renal transplant population, it is the most common cause of fungal infections. However, candidal psoas abscess is very rare in the literature.

Arm circumference: its importance for dialysis patients in the obesity era.

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to investigate the association between arm circumference and body mass index (BMI) and to discuss problems, mainly arm circumference and cuff size mismatch, that could affect the reliability of home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) among peritoneal dialysis (PD) and hemodialysis (HD) patients.

Methods: 525 PD and 502 HD patients from 16 centers were included in the study. A two-part questionnaire was used to gather information from the participants.

Progression of coronary artery calcification in renal transplant recipients.

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality among renal transplant recipients. In the general population, coronary artery calcification (CAC) and progression of CAC are predictors of future cardiac risk. We conducted a study to determine the progression of CAC in renal transplant recipients; we also examined the factors associated with progression and the impact of the analytic methods used to determine CAC progression.

Coronary artery calcification and coronary ischaemia in renal transplant recipients.

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality among renal transplant recipients. Data on the relationship between coronary artery calcification (CAC) and coronary ischaemia in renal transplantation patients are scant. We conducted a study to determine the prevalence and determinants of CAC in these patients; we also examined the frequency of coronary ischaemia in patients with moderate and severe CAC.

Fungal peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis: risk factors and prognosis.

Although less common than bacterial peritonitis, fungal peritonitis is associated with much higher morbidity and mortality. In this study, we aimed to determine the risk factors for fungal peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis patients. The records of 109 peritoneal dialysis patients were analyzed.

Homozygous factor V Leiden mutation and disseminated thrombosis in a patient with nephrotic syndrome.

We report the case of a young male patient with nephrotic syndrome and multiple venous thromboses. The patient presented various aggregated thrombophilic risk factors. He was found to be homozygous for factor V Leiden mutation and his anticardiolipin antibody and homocysteine levels were high.

Coronary artery calcification and chronically decreased GFR in living kidney donors.

Background: In the presence of decreased glomerular filtration rate (GFR), the risk of morbidity and mortality caused by cardiovascular disease (CVD) is increased markedly. Increased coronary artery calcification (CAC) is proposed as a pathogenetic link between CVD and chronic kidney disease. We examined the frequency and severity of CAC in living kidney donors to test the hypothesis that decreased GFR is associated with increased CAC.

What is the optimal dwell time for maximizing ultrafiltration with icodextrin exchange in automated peritoneal dialysis patients?

Background: Icodextrin is increasingly being used in automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) for the long dwell exchange to maintain adequate ultrafiltration (UF). However, the UF reported in the literature varies with different dwell times: from 200 to 500 mL with 12 - 15 hour dwells. In order to maximize UF, it is important to know the relationship between dwell time and UF when using icodextrin in APD patients.

Bone mineral density and its correlation with clinical and laboratory factors in chronic peritoneal dialysis patients.

The aim of this study was to assess the clinical and laboratory correlations of bone mineral density (BMD) measurements among a large population of patients on chronic peritoneal dialysis (PD). This cross-sectional, multicenter study was carried out in 292 PD patients with a mean age of 56 +/- 16 years and mean duration of PD 3.1 +/- 2.

Serum cystatin C level as a potentially good marker for impaired kidney function.

Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic significance of serum cystatin C levels in clinical practice.

Design And Methods: Serum (99m)Tc-DTPA clearance was compared with serum cystatin C, creatinine, beta(2)-microglobulin levels and creatinine clearance in a group of patients aged 42.61 +/- 7.

Association of conjunctival and corneal calcification with vascular calcification in dialysis patients.

Background: Conjunctival and corneal calcification (CCC) is a well-known and easily detectable extraskeletal calcification, but its association with vascular calcification was not investigated previously. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship of CCC with vascular calcification and bone metabolism parameters in dialysis patients.

Methods: We evaluated 63 patients (30 men, 33 women; mean age, 43.

Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis in familial Mediterranean fever amyloidosis patients with end-stage renal failure: a single-centre experience from Turkey.

Background/aims: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disease characterised by recurrent fever attacks and polyserositis which may lead to the development of AA amyloidosis and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) in FMF-amyloidosis patients with ESRD.

Methods: Forty age- and sex-matched patients undergoing CAPD at our centre between 1996 and 2002 were included in the study.

Serum levels of prostate-specific antigen and vitamin D in peritoneal dialysis patients.

Measuring the free:total ratio of prostate-specific antigen (f/t-PSA) can improve the specificity of single-serum PSA values, distinguishing between benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostatic carcinoma (PCa) in men over the age of 50. Additionally, clinical trials have shown that dihydroxyvitamin D3 can slow the rate of PSA rise in PCa patients. However, little is known regarding the applicability of those findings in men undergoing chronic peritoneal dialysis (CPD).

Cost of renal replacement therapy in Turkey.

Background And Results: By the end 2000, 22224 patients were on renal replacement therapy (RRT) in Turkey. We investigated the cost of RRT in three medical faculties and one private dialysis centre. Yearly expenses were US dollars 22759 for haemodialysis (HD), US dollars 22350 for continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), and US dollars 23393 and US dollars 10028, respectively, for the first and second years of transplantation (Tx).

The prevalence and clinical features of tuberculous peritonitis in CAPD patients in Turkey, report of ten cases from multi-centers.

Objective: To determine the rate, risk factors and outcome of Tuberculous Peritonitis (TBP) in patients treated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) in our units.

Design: Retrospectively, we reviewed the medical data of all CAPD patients from 12 centers for TBP, covering the period between 1986 and December 2002.

Setting: All patients were from 12 renal clinics at tertiary-care university hospitals.

Psoriatic arthritis associated with adult polycystic kidney disease, seminal vesicle, and epididymal cysts.

Patients with seminal vesicle and epididymal cysts are mostly asymptomatic. To date, only one patient presenting with bloody ejaculate and acute scrotum has been reported. Different extrarenal manifestations and the association of adult polycystic kidney disease (APKD) with some connective tissue diseases are known.

Toxic shock syndrome in two CAPD patients with Staphylococcus aureus exit-site infection.

Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is an illness defined by the occurrence of fever, rash, hypotension, multiple organ system dysfunction, and desquamation. Nonmenstrual TSS is often associated with surgical or nonsurgical cutaneous infections, which are rarely purulent or inflamed (Reingold AL, et al. Nonmenstrual toxic shock syndrome: a review of 130 cases.

A retrospective analysis for aetiology and clinical findings of 287 secondary amyloidosis cases in Turkey.

Background: Secondary amyloidosis is the most frequent of the various types of systemic amyloidosis, the epidemiology of which is not yet fully known. The aim of our study was to evaluate retrospectively the collective data for the aetiological distribution, clinical findings and approaches to the management of secondary amyloidosis in Turkey.

Methods: Data from a simple questionnaire addressing aetiology, and demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with biopsy-proven secondary amyloidosis was retrospectively analysed.

Is isoniazid ototoxic in patients undergoing hemodialysis?

Drug-induced ototoxicity might sometimes be a problem in end-stage renal failure (ESRF) patients. However, ototoxicity secondary to isoniazid intake has not been reported in ESRF until now. During the last decade, ototoxicity was diagnosed in 16.

Systemic fungal infections after renal transplantation.

In a retrospective evaluation, the incidence of systemic fungal infections (SFIs) in 296 kidney graft recipients admitted to our center between 1986 and 1999 was found to be 4%. Eighteen percent of 28 recipients transplanted in India and 8% of 12 recipients transplanted in Russia developed SFI. In contrast, SFI was encountered in only 2% of recipients transplanted at our center.

Diarrhoea following renal transplantation.

In this study, we retrospectively evaluated all attacks of diarrhoea in our renal transplant recipients that came to our medical attention between 1985 and 2000. Also, the clinical features of patients with diarrhoea were compared with the features of recipients without diarrhoea. We diagnosed 41 attacks of diarrhoea in 39 (12.

Relative erythrocytosis of patients with end stage renal failure undergoing CAPD.

Background And Aim: Although the majority of patients with end stage renal failure have anemia, some have relative erythrocytosis. Patients treated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) having relative erythrocytosis were studied in order to determine the factors that would be responsible.

Methods: Nine out of 89 CAPD patients (10%) were identified as having relative erythrocytosis.