Retrospective Study Looking at Cinacalcet in the Management of Hyperparathyroidism after Kidney Transplantation.

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the use of cinacalcet in the management of hyperparathyroidism in kidney transplant recipients. The secondary objective is to identify baseline factors that predict cinacalcet use after transplantation. In this single-center retrospective study, we conducted a chart review of all patients having been transplanted from 2003 to 2012 and having received cinacalcet up to kidney transplantation and/or thereafter.

Conversion of oral alfacalcidol to oral calcitriol in the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism in chronic hemodialysis patients.

Purpose: The optimal vitamin D therapy for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) in chronic hemodialysis patients is still controversial. Recent studies suggest that uremia in end-stage renal disease is associated with enzymatic hepatic dysfunction altering 25-hydroxylation of vitamin D. The goal of our study was to compare the efficacy of calcitriol, the fully hydroxylated active form of vitamin D, to alfacalcidol which needs 25-hydroxylation to be effective, for the treatment of SHPT in chronic hemodialysis patients.

Retroperitoneal fibrosis: retrospective descriptive study on clinical features and management.

Introduction: Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF) is a rare condition characterized by the presence of inflammatory and fibrous retroperitoneal tissue that often encases the ureters or abdominal organs. This study describes the clinical characteristics, diagnostic methods, and treatments and their effects on renal function.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with RPF at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital.

Presumed paradoxical embolus in a patient with diabetic ketoacidosis.

Thrombotic complications figure among the most frequent causes of mortality in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyperosmolar state. We report the case of a 55-year-old woman presenting with DKA whereby a newly discovered patent foramen ovale was found due in part to the observation of bilateral deep vein thrombosis in legs, bilateral multiple pulmonary embolisms, and left subclavian acute artery thrombosis. Diabetes is known as a hypercoagulability state, and DKA is rising as a risk factor for vascular events.

Tinzaparin reduces health care resource use for anticoagulation in hemodialysis.

Anticoagulation is required during hemodialysis to prevent thrombus formation within the extracorporeal circuit. The low-molecular-weight heparin tinzaparin is more expensive than unfractionated heparin (UFH) in Canada but more convenient to administer. We conducted a time-and-motion study to test the hypothesis that tinzaparin may reduce nursing time and total health care costs compared with UFH.