Long term reduction of cardiovascular risk factors associated with three hour daily dialysis: A prospective, cohort study.

Introduction: Daily hemodialysis (DHD) compared to conventional hemodialysis (CHD) leads to improvements in left ventricular hypertrophy and mineral metabolism at 1-year follow-up. However, there is no information from prospective studies on the long terms effects of DHD on these key cardiovascular risk factors.

Methods: We conducted a 4 year, prospective cohort study of 26 DHD and 51 matched CHD patients on the effect of DHD (six sessions/week × 3 h) versus CHD (three sessions/week × 4 h), 15 DHD, and 26 CHD patients completed 4-years follow-up.

Chronicity of Uncorrected Hyponatremia and Clinical Outcomes in Older Patients Undergoing Hip Fracture Repair.

Chronic hyponatremia is a risk factor for hip fracture but remains uncorrected in most patients. This study evaluated if preoperative chronicity of uncorrected hyponatremia influences outcomes after hip fracture repair. Evaluated were older patients hospitalized for hip fracture repair between 2007 and 2012 with plasma sodium measured at admission and ≥1 preadmission outpatient measurement.

Use of Desmopressin in Hyponatremia: Foe and Friend.

Use of desmopressin (1-deamino-8-d-arginine vasopressin; DDAVP), a synthetic vasopressin receptor agonist, has expanded in recent years. Desmopressin leads to renal water retention, and iatrogenic hyponatremia may result if fluid intake is not appropriately restricted. It is common practice to stop a medication that is causing toxicity, and this advice is promulgated in Micromedex, which suggests withholding desmopressin if hyponatremia occurs.

When the source of inflammation is hiding in plain sight: Failed kidney transplants, clotted arteriovenous grafts, and central venous catheters.

Cardiovascular mortality accounts for most deaths among hemodialysis patients and far exceeds the cardiovascular mortality rate of the general population. One important aspect of cardiovascular risk among dialysis patients is chronic inflammation. Iatrogenic sources of chronic inflammation in the form of failed renal allografts, old clotted arteriovenous grafts, and hemodialysis catheters play important, sometimes, unrecognized roles in this inflammatory state.

Treatment of Hyponatremic Encephalopathy in the Critically Ill.

Objectives: Hyponatremic encephalopathy, symptomatic cerebral edema due to a low osmolar state, is a medical emergency and often encountered in the ICU setting. This article provides a critical appraisal and review of the literature on identification of high-risk patients and the treatment of this life-threatening disorder.

Data Sources, Study Selection, And Data Extraction: Online search of the PubMed database and manual review of articles involving risk factors for hyponatremic encephalopathy and treatment of hyponatremic encephalopathy in critical illness.

Desmopressin acetate (DDAVP)-associated hyponatremia and brain damage: a case series.

Background: Desmopressin (DDAVP) is typically prescribed for central diabetes insipidus, von Willebrands disease and for enuresis. DDAVP-associated hyponatremia is a known complication of DDAVP therapy. The currently recommended treatment for this condition calls for discontinuing DDAVP as part of the initial therapy.

Inflammation from dialysis, can it be removed?

Mortality among hemodialysis patients remains unacceptably high in the USA, especially among newly diagnosed end-stage renal disease patients. Chronic inflammation is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease among HD patients. It has been shown that complications of the arteriovenous (AV) access are not just limited to overt infectious complications but they may also pose a threat as a haven for occult infection and can aggravate the chronic inflammatory state.

Long-term effects of daily hemodialysis on vascular access outcomes: a prospective controlled study.

Daily hemodialysis has been associated with surrogate markers of improved survival among hemodialysis patients. A potential disadvantage of daily hemodialysis is that frequent vascular access cannulations may affect long-term vascular access patency. The study design was a 4-year, nonrandomized, contemporary control, prospective study of 77 subjects in either 3-h daily hemodialysis (six 3-h dialysis treatments weekly; n = 26) or conventional dialysis (three 4-h dialysis treatments weekly; n = 51).

Use of 3-hour daily hemodialysis and paricalcitol in patients with severe secondary hyperparathyroidism: A case series.

Patients with poor metabolic control receiving conventional hemodialysis are at risk for developing severe secondary hyperparathyroidism. We postulated that daily hemodialysis may be effective at controlling parathyroid hormone (PTH) in the setting of severe secondary hyperparathyroidism by improving the control of hyperphosphatemia and allowing increased use of vitamin D analogs. We present 5 patients with severe secondary hyperparathyroidism (median iPTH=1783 pg/mL) who were treated with 3-hour daily hemodialysis (3 hours x 6 times a week).

Transplant nephrectomy improves survival following a failed renal allograft.

There is a growing number of patients returning to dialysis after a failed kidney transplant, and there is increasing evidence of higher mortality among this population. Whether removal of the failed renal allograft affects survival while receiving long-term dialysis is not well understood. We identified all adults who received a kidney transplant and returned to long-term dialysis after renal allograft failure between January 1994 and December 2004 from the US Renal Data System.

Brain cell volume regulation in hyponatremia: role of sex, age, vasopressin, and hypoxia.

Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte abnormality in hospitalized patients. When symptomatic (hyponatremic encephalopathy), the overall morbidity is 34%. Individuals most susceptible to death or permanent brain damage are prepubescent children and menstruant women.

Activated vitamin D attenuates left ventricular abnormalities induced by dietary sodium in Dahl salt-sensitive animals.

Observations in hemodialysis patients suggest a survival advantage associated with activated vitamin D therapy. Left ventricular (LV) structural and functional abnormalities are strongly linked with hemodialysis mortality. Here, we investigated whether paricalcitol (PC, 19-nor-1,25(OH)(2)D(2)), an activated vitamin D compound, attenuates the development of LV abnormalities in the Dahl salt-sensitive (DSS) rat and whether humans demonstrate comparable findings.

Left ventricular hypertrophy: is hyperphosphatemia among dialysis patients a risk factor?

Cardiovascular disease occurs in ESRD patients at rates that are far higher than is seen in the general population, and cardiovascular deaths account for the majority of deaths among dialysis patients. Abnormal mineral metabolism is a novel cardiovascular risk factor among dialysis patients. Recently published results demonstrated that even with good control of BP and anemia, conventional hemodialysis is associated with significant left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH); however, daily hemodialysis was associated with a significant reduction in LV mass index (LVMI).

Dysnatremias: why are patients still dying?

Dysnatremias are a common clinical entity that are often associated with poor outcomes. This review takes a case study approach to understand how dysnatremias can result in devastating neurologic consequences. Concrete guidelines are provided for prevention, early recognition and treatment along with a discussion of how urinary electrolytes and osmolality can be used to guide therapy.

Effects of short daily versus conventional hemodialysis on left ventricular hypertrophy and inflammatory markers: a prospective, controlled study.

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and inflammation independently increase risk for death in people who receive hemodialysis. A nonrandomized, controlled trial was conducted of the effect of short daily (6 sessions/wk of 3 h each) or conventional (three sessions/wk of 4 h each) hemodialysis on LVH and inflammatory factors. A total of 26 short daily hemodialysis and 51 matched conventional hemodialysis patients were enrolled, and baseline and 12-mo measures of echocardiographic left ventricular mass index (LVMI), serum C-reactive protein (CRP), serum calcium and phosphorus, and erythropoietin resistance index were collected.

Effects of erythropoietin on left ventricular hypertrophy in adults with severe chronic renal failure and hemoglobin <10 g/dL.

Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) frequently complicates chronic renal insufficiency. Anemia is also common in these patients and may contribute to LVH.

Methods: We conducted an open-label interventional trial to evaluate the effect of recombinant erythropoietin (rhEPO) on left ventricular mass index (LVMI) in anemic patients with renal insufficiency.

At the peril of dialysis patients: ignoring the failed transplant.

Recently it has been shown that patients returning to hemodialysis (HD) following kidney transplant loss have poor survival, though the factors responsible for these poor outcomes remain largely unknown. In the past, we have shown that occult infection of clotted arteriovenous grafts (AVGs) leads to a chronic inflammatory state characterized by erythropoietin resistance, hypoalbuminemia, elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), and poor outcomes. It is well known that failed renal allografts induce graft intolerance syndrome, a clinical syndrome of pain, fever, and anemia, in the majority of patients.

The role of vitamin D in left ventricular hypertrophy and cardiac function.

The role of vitamin D in left ventricular hypertrophy and cardiac function. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Traditional cardiac risk factors, as well as other factors specific to the ESRD population such as hyperphosphatemia, elevated calcium and phosphate product, abnormal lipid metabolism, hyperhomocysteinemia, and chronic inflammation play a role in the excessive risk of cardiovascular death in this population.