Self-reported MeasUrement of Physical and PsychosOcial Symptoms Response Tool (SUPPORT-dialysis): systematic symptom assessment and management in patients on in-centre haemodialysis - a parallel arm, non-randomised feasibility pilot study protocol.

Introduction: Patients with kidney failure experience symptoms that are often under-recognised and undermanaged. These symptoms negatively impact health-related quality of life and are associated with adverse clinical outcomes. Regular symptom assessment, using electronic patient reported outcomes measure (ePROMs) linked to systematic symptom management, could improve such outcomes.

An Adjustable Dalteparin Sodium Dose Regimen for the Prevention of Clotting in the Extracorporeal Circuit in Hemodialysis: A Clinical Trial of Safety and Efficacy (the PARROT Study).

Background: Dalteparin sodium, a low-molecular-weight heparin, is indicated for prevention of clotting in the extracorporeal circuit during hemodialysis (HD). Product labeling recommends a fixed single-bolus dose of 5000 international units (IU) for HD sessions lasting up to 4 hours, but adjustable dosing may be beneficial in clinical practice.

Objective: The aim of the PARROT study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of an adjustable dose of dalteparin in patients with end-stage renal disease requiring 3 to 4 HD sessions per week.

Randomized pilot study to compare metal needles versus plastic cannulae in the development of complications in hemodialysis access.

Background: Hemodialysis requires needle insertions every treatment. Needle injury (mechanical or hemodynamic) may cause complications (aneurysms/stenosis) that compromise dialysis delivery requiring interventions. Metal needles have a sharp slanted "V"-shaped cutting tip; plastic cannulae have a dull round tip and four side holes.

Are you SURE about your vascular access? Exploring factors influencing vascular access decisions with chronic hemodialysis patients and their nurses.

A major decision for patients with stage 5 chronic kidney disease (CKD) relates to vascular access (VA) for treatment. Patients who receive pre-dialysis care often defer making a decision, which results in initiation of hemodialysis (HD) with a central venous catheter (CVC) in an urgent or emergent situation. Little is known about how individuals make decisions around VA.

Development of competencies for the use of bedside ultrasound for assessment and cannulation of hemodialysis vascular access.

Use of ultrasound for hemodialysis vascular access assessment and real-time cannulation requires specialized training. In order to obtain basic hand-eye coordination, theoretical sessions on ultrasound use, as well as practical sessions using phantom models are recommended prior to its use in the clinical setting with patients. New users of this technology need to consider that all competencies can be achieved with daily use of ultrasound at the bedside.

Impact of needles in vascular access for hemodialysis.

This article reviews pragmatic aspects of cannulation practice and types of cannulation devices, as well as their impact in vascular access for hemodialysis. Hemodialysis treatment requires successful insertion of two needles for each dialysis treatment. The first needle is the arterial needle; it removes blood with toxin accumulation from the patient and delivers it to the dialysis machine.

When is a new fistula mature? The emerging science of fistula cannulation.

Once an arteriovenous fistula is established, the blood vessels are subjected to marked changes in hemodynamic forces that trigger remodeling to re-establish baseline parameters of sheer and hoop stress. These homeostatic processes culminate in two requirements that define an adequate and enduring access. First, blood flow must increase to provide amounts that will provide adequate delivery of blood to the artificial kidney.

Supercath Safety Clampcath buttonhole creation: complication of catheter breakage.

The creation of buttonhole tracks with Supercath Safety Clampcath is a novel and simple technique that allows dull fistula needle insertions with relative ease and diminished pain. As greater experience with this procedure develops, new issues arise for consideration. We report an unexpected complication of Supercath Safety Clampcath catheter breakage that may be due to physical distortions as a result of its location in the antecubital fossa just proximal to the elbow joint.

Effect of fish oil supplementation on graft patency and cardiovascular events among patients with new synthetic arteriovenous hemodialysis grafts: a randomized controlled trial.

Context: Synthetic arteriovenous grafts, an important option for hemodialysis vascular access, are prone to recurrent stenosis and thrombosis. Supplementation with fish oils has theoretical appeal for preventing these outcomes.

Objective: To determine the effect of fish oil on synthetic hemodialysis graft patency and cardiovascular events.

Regression of left ventricular mass following conversion from conventional hemodialysis to thrice weekly in-centre nocturnal hemodialysis.

Background: Increased left ventricular mass (LVM) is associated with adverse outcomes in patients receiving chronic hemodialysis. Among patients receiving conventional hemodialysis (CHD, 3×/week, 4 hrs/session), we evaluated whether dialysis intensification with in-centre nocturnal hemodialysis (INHD, 3×/week, 7-8 hrs/session in the dialysis unit) was associated with regression of LVM.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of CHD recipients who converted to INHD and received INHD for at least 6 months.

Arteriovenous fistulas for hemodialysis: application of high-frequency US to assess vein wall morphology for cannulation readiness.

Purpose: To determine whether venous wall thickness and hoop (circumferential) stress, as determined with high-frequency ultrasonography (US), can predict cannulation readiness in arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs).

Materials And Methods: Institutional review board approval and informed consent were obtained for this prospective study. To determine the US appearance of the venous wall, an AVF specimen was excised and scanned in a bath of degassed lactated Ringer solution with a 55-MHz probe.

Exploring the impact of a decision support intervention on vascular access decisions in chronic hemodialysis patients: study protocol.

Background: In patients with Stage 5 Chronic Kidney Disease who require renal replacement therapy a major decision concerns modality choice. However, many patients defer the decision about modality choice or they have an urgent or emergent need of RRT, which results in them starting hemodialysis with a Central Venous Catheter. Thereafter, efforts to help patients make more timely decisions about access choices utilizing education and resource allocation strategies met with limited success resulting in a high prevalent CVC use in Canada.

Use of the BioHole™ device for the creation of tunnel tracks for buttonhole cannulation of fistula for hemodialysis.

Buttonhole cannulation is a method of cannulation of native arteriovenous fistulae traditionally practiced by self-cannulators. At St Michael's Hospital, this method has been modified to allow its use in problematic fistulae by multiple cannulators. In a busy dialysis unit, the need for a few specific cannulators to establish the tunnel tracks in combination with the variable dialysis schedules creates logistical challenges.

Relationship of blood pressure to retinal vessel diameter in type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Objective: To examine the relationship of blood pressure (BP) and use of angiotensin-receptor blocker or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor to retinal vessel diameter in normotensive, normoalbuminuric persons with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Methods: In a randomized, controlled clinical trial, clinic and 24-hour ambulatory BPs were measured in persons with type 1 diabetes mellitus and gradable fundus photographs both at baseline (n = 147) and at 5-year follow-up (n = 124). Retinal arteriole and venule diameters were measured by a computer-assisted technique.

Glutathione and riboflavin status in supplemented patients undergoing home nocturnal hemodialysis versus standard hemodialysis.

Background: Patients on conventional hemodialysis (HD) have elevated markers of oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, which may contribute to a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease. Glutathione (GSH), an important intracellular antioxidant, requires cysteine as a rate-limiting amino acid for its synthesis and riboflavin for its regeneration.

Objectives: We aimed to examine whether erythrocyte GSH (eGSH) concentrations and riboflavin status are influenced by the increased dialysis dose provided to vitamin-supplemented patients receiving home nocturnal hemodialysis (HNHD) (6-8 hours/session, 5-7 nights/week) compared with patients on standard hemodialysis (SHD) (4 hours/session, 3 days/week).

Renal and retinal effects of enalapril and losartan in type 1 diabetes.

Background: Nephropathy and retinopathy remain important complications of type 1 diabetes. It is unclear whether their progression is slowed by early administration of drugs that block the renin-angiotensin system.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter, controlled trial involving 285 normotensive patients with type 1 diabetes and normoalbuminuria and who were randomly assigned to receive losartan (100 mg daily), enalapril (20 mg daily), or placebo and followed for 5 years.

A simple method to create buttonhole cannulation tracks in a busy hemodialysis unit.

The preference for fistulae as the hemodialysis access of choice has led to a significant number of accesses that are less than ideal for cannulation. Buttonhole cannulation is ideal for such accesses, but the technique for creation provides major challenges. In 12 patients, buttonhole tunnel tracks were created by leaving the polyurethane catheter of a Clampcath hemodialysis needle indwelling for 10 days after the initial cannulation.

In-center nocturnal hemodialysis: another option in the management of chronic kidney disease.

Background And Objectives: Some patients are not optimally treated by conventional in-center hemodialysis (HD) and are unable to perform home HD. We examined the effect of in-center thrice-weekly nocturnal HD (INHD) on patient outcomes.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: Patients who were not optimally treated on conventional HD were offered INHD.

Molecular comparison of Mycobacterium avium isolates from clinical and environmental sources.

We collected Mycobacterium avium isolates from clinical and drinking-water sources and compared isolates among themselves and to each other using molecular methods. Four clinical isolates were related to water isolates. Groups of indistinguishable clinical isolates were identified.

Design of the fish oil inhibition of stenosis in hemodialysis grafts (FISH) study.

Background: Arteriovenous grafts (AVG) are the predominant form of permanent vascular access used among hemodialysis (HD) patients in North America but suffer from high intervention and complication rates associated with vascular stenosis. The fish oil inhibition of stenosis in hemodialysis grafts (FISH) study evaluates the efficacy of fish oil in improving HD graft patency.

Methods: This study is a multi-center, randomized, double blind placebo-controlled clinical trial of 232 chronic HD patients who require a new graft access.

The relation of ambulatory blood pressure and pulse rate to retinopathy in type 1 diabetes mellitus: the renin-angiotensin system study.

Purpose: To examine the association of ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) and ambulatory pulse rate (APR) with diabetic retinopathy (DR) in persons with type 1 diabetes in the Renin-Angiotensin System Study (RASS), a multicenter primary diabetic nephropathy (DN) prevention trial.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Participants: One hundred ninety-four normotensive RASS participants in 3 centers who are 16 years of age or older with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) of 2 to 20 years' duration.

Correlation between fractional reabsorption of sodium and erythropoietin dose in peritoneal dialysis patients.

Background: Erythropoietin (EPO) deficiency of chronic renal failure (CRF) may be a functional consequence of decreased glomerular filtration rate and fractional reabsorption of sodium (FR(Na)). Decreased FR(Na) reduces renal oxygen consumption and increases tissue oxygen pressure, resulting in less EPO production. We hypothesized that, in CRF patients, there is a positive relationship between EPO production and FR(Na) and that, in such patients receiving EPO, a negative correlation is expected between FR(Na) and EPO dose.