E -cigarettes and kidney health: current knowledge and future perspectives.

Background: Chronic conventional cigarette smoking has been closely linked to incident chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the general population. It is associated with the acceleration of pre-existing CKD and failure of kidney allograft function. Cessation of conventional cigarette smoking is effective in reducing the increased risk of smoking induced kidney damage.

Specific and Non-specific Aspects and Future Challenges of ICU Care Among COVID-19 Patients with Obesity: A Narrative Review.

Purpose Of Review: Since the end of 2019, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has infected nearly 800 million people and caused almost seven million deaths. Obesity was quickly identified as a risk factor for severe COVID-19, ICU admission, acute respiratory distress syndrome, organ support including mechanical ventilation and prolonged length of stay. The relationship among obesity; COVID-19; and respiratory, thrombotic, and renal complications upon admission to the ICU is unclear.

Long-term interplay between COVID-19 and chronic kidney disease.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic may have an impact on the long-term kidney function of survivors. The clinical relevance is not clear.

Methods: This review summarises the currently published data.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio-a new diagnostic and prognostic marker of acute kidney injury. Barriers to broad clinical application.

Hospital-acquired acute kidney injury is a heterogeneous clinical syndrome that has multiple aetiologies, widely differing pathogeneses, variable clinical manifestations, and diverse outcomes. There is a persistent unmet need for novel biomarkers that offer timely diagnosis and accurate prediction of the short- and long-term sequelae of acute kidney injury (AKI). AKI is associated with systemic and intrarenal inflammation.

Dimorphic Response of Sex and Hospital-acquired Acute Kidney Injury.

The risk of hospital-acquired acute kidney injury (HA-AKI) depends on a person's intrinsic susceptibility, the presence of risk factors, and on the type and extent of exposure to kidney insults. Older cohort studies have focused on male-only or mostly male populations, assuming a lower incidence of HA-AKI in women. Insufficient statistical power suggested that female sex was a shared susceptibility factor for HA-AKI.

Risk of lung cancer and renin-angiotensin blockade: a concise review.

Purpose: The blockade of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) by angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) is one of the most common treatments for hypertension, heart failure and renal diseases. However, concerns have been raised about a possible link between RAAS-blockers and an increased risk of cancer, particularly of lung cancer. This narrative review aims to give a critical appraisal of current evidence and to help physicians understand potential links between RAAS blockade and de novo lung cancer development.

Current Approach to Successful Liberation from Renal Replacement Therapy in Critically Ill Patients with Severe Acute Kidney Injury: The Quest for Biomarkers Continues.

Recovery of sufficient kidney function to liberate patients with severe acute kidney injury (AKI-D) from renal replacement therapy (RRT) is recognized as a vital patient-centred outcome. However, no clinical consensus guideline provides specific recommendations on when and how to stop RRT in anticipation of renal recovery from AKI-D. Currently, wide variations in clinical practice regarding liberation from RRT result in early re-start of RRT to treat uraemia after premature liberation or in the unnecessary prolonged exposure of unwell patients after late liberation.

Gender differences in the susceptibility of hospital-acquired acute kidney injury: more questions than answers.

Hospital-acquired acute kidney injury (HA-AKI) is a heterogeneous renal syndrome which occurs in different clinical settings. It is characterized by multiple aetiologies, various pathogeneses and unpredictable outcomes. HA-AKI, once predominantly viewed as a self-limited and reversible short-term condition, is now recognized as a harbinger for chronic kidney disease and a cause of long-term morbidity with an increased risk of cardiovascular, renal and cancer mortality.

High-volume online haemodiafiltration treatment and outcome of end-stage renal disease patients: more than one mode.

The reduction of the dismally high mortality of current end-stage renal disease patients maintained on conventional standard haemodialysis (HD) remains an unmet medical need. Online haemodiafiltration (HDF) modes with various sites of fluid substitution (post-, pre-, mixed- and mid-dilution) are increasingly used worldwide as promising alternatives to conventional HD. Large scale cohort studies, post hoc analyses of randomized trials, and individual participant meta-analyses suggest that post-dilution and pre-dilution, especially with high substitution volumes, improve outcomes compared with conventional standard HD.

Proton-pump inhibitors and chronic kidney disease: Hidden consequences of an inappropriate drug use?

Proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) are the most effective therapy for gastric acid- related diseases. They are generally well tolerated with rare, often self-limiting adverse reactions. On the other hand, there is growing concern regarding the increased public access and inappropriate PPI use.

Obesity and the Survival of Critically Ill Patients with Acute Kidney Injury: A Paradox within the Paradox?

The obesity epidemic is reflected by the rising number of obese patients requiring intensive care. Obesity is a recognized risk factor for the development of acute kidney injury (AKI) in critically ill patients. Both acute critical illness and AKI are associated with higher in-hospital mortality rates, and intensive care unit (ICU) patients suffering from AKI have an elevated risk of death.

Intensity of renal replacement therapy and outcomes in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury: Critical appraisal of the dosing recommendations.

The current care of critically ill patients with severe acute kidney injury requiring dialysis (AKI-D) is limited to supportive management in which renal replacement therapy (RRT) plays a central role. Renal replacement techniques are invasive bioincompatible procedures and are therefore associated with complications that may prove harmful to fragile patients. Inexperience with the standards and lacking or misinterpreted recommendations for the delivery of the RRT dose increases the risk of serious complications.

Online hemodiafiltration and mortality risk in end-stage renal disease patients: A critical appraisal of current evidence.

The life expectancy of end-stage renal disease patients undergoing regular hemodialysis (HD) remains significantly lower than in the general population. Reducing excess mortality by improving renal replacement options is an unmet medical need. Online post-dilution hemodiafiltration (HDF) has been promoted as the gold standard, offering improved clinical outcomes, based on numerous observational studies that suggest a reduced mortality risk and lower morbidity with HDF compared with standard HD.

Ursodeoxycholic acid attenuates hepatotoxicity of multidrug treatment of mycobacterial infections: A prospective pilot study.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health problem. The application of rifampicin-based regimens for antimycobacterial therapy is hampered by its marked hepatotoxicity which results in poor adherence and may contribute to prolonged therapy or treatment failure. The purpose of this prospective investigation was to evaluate the hepatoprotective effectiveness of oral ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) (250-500 mg TID) administered to TB- or non-TB mycobacterial (NTM)-infected patients with drug-induced hepatotoxicity and ongoing therapy.

Timing of Renal Replacement Therapy in Acute Kidney Injury: Shedding New Light on an Old Controversy.

Critically ill patients with severe acute kidney injury (AKI-D) require renal replacement therapy (RRT) increasingly. However, the optimal timing of initiation of RRT for non-life-threatening indications of AKI remains unknown. There is a debate as to whether different philosophies of RRT initiation (early vs.

Discontinuation of renal replacement therapy in critically ill patients with severe acute kidney injury: predictive factors of renal function recovery.

Introduction: Severe acute kidney injury (AKI-D) is common in critically ill patients and contributes substantially to short- and long-term morbidity and mortality. Acute renal replacement therapy (RRT) is an increasingly widely utilized life-sustaining support strategy for AKI-D patients, providing a bridge to renal recovery in many survivors of AKI. However, key aspects (when and how) of this therapy's appropriate cessation remain unclear.

[A complicated clinical course of tick-borne rickettsiosis after safari in South Africa].

History: A healthy 41 year old man was bitten by a tick while on safari in the Kruger National Park in South Africa. He developed severe fever and malaise 5 days later. A characteristic red skin sore with a dark centre and surrounding erythema (eschar, tache noir) developed at the site of the tick bite.

Prevention of severe acute kidney injury by implementation of care bundles: Some progress but still a lot of work ahead.

Routine health data, dating from 1990 to 2015, show a dramatic rise in the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) in the general population and an apparent increase in acute dialysis (AKI-D) prompting calls for improvement of care in AKI patients. Recent reports suggest flattening of population-based AKI occurrence rates or declining frequencies of AKI or AKI-D in subgroups of high-risk patients with known onset of AKI. These temporal changes in AKI occurrence relate at least in part to the widespread implementation of AKI prevention care bundles.