Early access flow rate predicts vascular access patency-related intervention in the first year: A retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: Arteriovenous fistulas and grafts are lifelines for most hemodialysis patients, and a low access flow rate often requires patency-related intervention, such as angioplasty or thrombectomy, to prevent access failure. We examined whether early access flow rate, measured after initial fistula/graft cannulation, predicts vascular access patency-related intervention within 1 year.

Methods: This was a single-center retrospective cohort study.

Acute on chronic bilateral renal vein thrombosis in the setting of remission of class V lupus nephritis: A case report and literature review.

Renal vein thrombosis (RVT), defined as the presence of a thrombus in the major renal vein or one of its tributaries, can present acutely or go unnoticed resulting in acute kidney injury or chronic kidney disease. RVT is associated with multiple etiologies, including nephrotic syndrome, thrombophilia, autoimmune disorders, and malignancy. Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a multiorgan autoimmune disorder, are predisposed to coagulopathy and thus are at a higher risk of venous and arterial thromboembolism.

Factors Associated with Severity of Acute Kidney Injury and Adverse Outcomes in Critically Ill Patients with COVID-19.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a well-recognized complication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The short and long-term outcomes of patients who develop AKI have not been well characterized.

Methods: In this multicenter retrospective cohort study, we describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of critically ill adults with severe COVID-19 and AKI.

Cost analysis of two modalities of continuous renal replacement therapy.

Background: Continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CVVH) and continuous veno-venous hemodialysis (CVVHD) are costly therapies reserved for use in critically ill patients with kidney failure.

Design: Quality improvement study at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.

Malignancy-induced lactic acidosis in adult lymphoma.

Malignancy-induced lactic acidosis (MILA), a rare paraneoplastic phenomenon, is mostly described with hematologic malignancies (lymphomas and leukemias) but has also been reported with solid tumors. It is a subset of type B lactic acidosis being mediated without evidence of tissue hypoperfusion. Lymphoma-induced lactic acidosis is often considered an oncologic emergency and is associated with an increased risk of mortality and poor prognosis.

Hemodialysis for treatment of levofloxacin-induced neurotoxicity.

Levofloxacin, a third-generation fluoroquinolone antibiotic, is rarely associated with neurotoxicity. Patients with advanced kidney disease are particularly vulnerable to this adverse effect. We present two elderly patients with kidney failure who developed levofloxacin-induced neurotoxicity, which was successfully treated with frequent hemodialysis, resulting in the full resolution of their symptoms.

Chronic kidney disease and acquired mitochondrial myopathy.

Purpose Of Review: Sarcopenia and muscle weakness contribute to fragility and limit exercise tolerance among patients with CKD. This review focuses on the role of reduction in mitochondrial mass and function in the myopathy associated with CKD, causes for these muscle mitochondrial abnormalities, and potential therapeutic interventions that may improve mitochondrial biogenesis and function as well as skeletal muscle function and performance in patients with CKD.

Recent Findings: Multiple abnormalities of mitochondrial structure, function, and composition have been shown in both experimental models and patients with CKD.

Inflammation and Progression of CKD: The CRIC Study.

Background And Objectives: CKD is a global public health problem with significant mortality and morbidity.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: We examined the multivariable association of plasma levels of IL-1, IL-1 receptor antagonist, IL-6, TNF-α, TGF-β, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, and serum albumin with progression of CKD in 3430 Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort study participants.

Results: Over a median follow-up time of 6.

Mitochondrial DNA injury and mortality in hemodialysis patients.

The role of mitochondrial injury in the pathogenesis of complications of uremia is incompletely defined, although diminished bioenergetic capacity and the accumulation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations have been reported. This study was undertaken to evaluate the prevalence of mtDNA injury in 180 patients who had ESRD and were enrolled into the baseline phase of the HEMO study and to relate these markers to all-cause mortality. The mitochondrial injury markers studied in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were the mtDNA copy number per cell, measured by quantitative PCR, and the presence of the mtDNA(4977) mutation.

Plasma adiponectin levels and clinical outcomes among haemodialysis patients.

Background: Adiponectin (ADPN) levels are consistently elevated among patients with advanced chronic kidney disease, but its relationship with cardiovascular outcomes in this population remains controversial.

Methods: We measured baseline and yearly plasma ADPN in 182 prevalent haemodialysis patients recruited to the Haemodialysis (HEMO) Study from two Boston centres. Plasma ADPN at baseline and during follow-up was studied in relation to prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.

Genetics and reverse epidemiology among patients on chronic hemodialysis.

A reversal in the association between traditional and nontraditional risk factors and clinical outcomes is often encountered in patients with chronic illness, including among those with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). The effects of the malnutrition-inflammation complex syndrome (MICS) may play a significant role in the reversal of this risk factor-outcomes association. the MICS, this syndrome complex is not universal in its prevalence among MHD patients.

Impact of dialyzer membrane on apoptosis and function of polymorphonuclear cells and cytokine synthesis by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in hemodialysis patients.

In an in vivo crossover trial, we compared a cellulosic with a synthetic dialyzer with respect to polymorphonuclear cells (PMN) function and apoptosis, cytokine serum levels and synthesis by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), and complement activation. Twenty hemodialysis (HD) patients were assigned in alternate order to HD with cellulose acetate (CA) or polysulfone (PS) dialyzer. After 2 weeks, patients were crossed over to the second dialyzer and treated for another 2 weeks.

Urinary N-acetyl-beta-(D)-glucosaminidase activity and kidney injury molecule-1 level are associated with adverse outcomes in acute renal failure.

The role of urinary biomarkers of kidney injury in the prediction of adverse clinical outcomes in acute renal failure (ARF) has not been well described. The relationship between urinary N-acetyl-beta-(D)-glucosaminidase activity (NAG) and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) level and adverse clinical outcomes was evaluated prospectively in a cohort of 201 hospitalized patients with ARF. NAG was measured by spectrophotometry, and KIM-1 was measured by a microsphere-based Luminex technology.

NADPH oxidase p22phox and catalase gene variants are associated with biomarkers of oxidative stress and adverse outcomes in acute renal failure.

Reactive oxygen species are important mediators of injury in acute renal failure (ARF). Although polymorphisms that affect key pro- and antioxidant enzymes might alter the susceptibility to oxidative stress-mediated injury, the use of genetic epidemiology for the study of oxidative stress-related genes has received little attention in ARF. The relationship of single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the coding region (C to T substitution at position +242) of the pro-oxidant enzyme NADPH oxidase p22phox subunit gene and in the promoter region (C to T substitution at position -262) of the antioxidant enzyme catalase gene to adverse clinical outcomes was evaluated prospectively in a cohort of 200 hospitalized patients with established ARF of mixed cause and severity.

The kidney disease wasting: inflammation, oxidative stress, and diet-gene interaction.

The 350,000 maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients in the United States have an unacceptably high mortality rate of >20%/year. Almost half of all deaths are assumed to be cardiovascular. Markers of kidney disease wasting (KDW) such as hypoalbuminemia, anorexia, body weight and fat loss, rather than traditional cardiovascular risk factors, appear to be the strongest predictors of early death in these patients.

A systematic review of the effect of the Excebrane dialyser on biomarkers of lipid peroxidation.

Background: Oxidative stress is prevalent in dialysis patients and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease and anaemia. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the effect of Excebrane, a vitamin E-coated cellulose-based dialyser, on circulating biomarkers of lipid peroxidation, as surrogate markers of oxidative stress.

Methods: The primary sources used to identify candidate studies included PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, a bibliography provided by the dialyser manufacturer, and a manual search of abstracts from proceedings of scientific meetings and review articles.

Managing erythropoietin hyporesponsiveness.

The anemia of chronic kidney disease is associated with cardiovascular disease, decreased quality of life, and mortality. The introduction of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) has transformed the management of this condition. However, a significant proportion of patients fail to respond to even high doses of rHuEPO.

Inflammatory biomarkers and cardiovascular risk: association or cause and effect?

With the current understanding that atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disorder, markers of the associated systemic inflammatory response have been extensively studied as predictors of cardiovascular disease. Recently the use of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) has been proposed for risk assessment in individuals at intermediate risk of coronary heart disease. The traditional view of inflammatory biomarkers, including CRP, regards them as risk markers rather than risk factors.

Gene polymorphism association studies in dialysis: cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most important cause of morbidity and mortality in dialysis patients. The high prevalence of CVD is due to the cumulative effects of multiple risk factors from the early stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Familial predispositions to CVD, CKD, and their respective risk factors are well known, and it is likely that genetic factors determine the interindividual variability in risks for disease.

Plasma interleukin-6 predicts cardiovascular mortality in hemodialysis patients.

Background: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a mediator and marker of the chronic inflammatory process that is responsible for much of the morbidity and mortality seen in hemodialysis (HD) patients. This study evaluated circulating plasma IL-6 as a predictor of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality and studied its relationship to prevalent comorbidity and hypoalbuminemia, in a cohort of stable HD patients enrolled in the HEMO study.

Methods: Clinical data included demographic, medical, and routine laboratory parameters.

Model for gene-environment interaction: the case for dialysis.

Organ complications in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) such as cardiovascular disease, anemia, bone disease, malnutrition, inflammation, and infections occur in many organ systems and are caused by a multitude of underlying disease-, uremia-, and therapy-related factors, and with a wide range of manifestations and severity. Interindividual variability in the pathophysiologic response of the uremic host to environmental factors, including renal replacement therapy, may be governed to a significant degree by genetic susceptibility factors. Specific genes regulate the pathophysiologic responses of organ systems affected by ESRD and can serve as candidate genes for the host-environment interaction.

Genomic medicine, gene polymorphisms, and human biological diversity.

There is considerable variation in the prevalence of comorbid conditions such as malnutrition, inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and bone disease among end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on maintenance hemodialysis. Besides traditional risk factors, these differences also arise from variability in genetic factors and gene-environment interactions. Recent publication of the human genome sequence through the Human Genome and Celera projects has provided a major impetus to the field of molecular genetics and genomic medicine.

Relationship of urine output to dialysis initiation and mortality in acute renal failure.

Background: A non-oliguric state is considered a good prognostic indicator in acute renal failure (ARF), and may lead to withholding renal replacement therapy in anticipation of recovery. The present study explores the relationship between urine volume and the start of dialysis and hospital mortality in patients with ARF.

Methods: In a non-concurrent cohort of patients with ARF treated exclusively with intermittent hemodialysis (IHD), demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics were collected at the time of the first nephrology consultation and at the start of dialysis.

Polymorphism of host response genes: implications in the pathogenesis and treatment of acute renal failure.

Acute inflammatory disorders are the result of an interaction between genetic and environmental factors, and are often characterized by an imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory host immune responses. Over the past decade, polymorphisms of host response genes have been explored as genetic risk and prognostic markers in the course and severity of acute inflammatory disorders. Increasing evidence supports an important role for inflammatory mechanisms in the pathogenesis of acute renal failure (ARF) following both ischemic and nephrotoxic injury.

Factors associated with urea reduction ratio in acute renal failure.

Prescription and delivery of hemodialysis (HD) in acute renal failure (ARF) may be affected by patient-related factors such as hemodynamic instability, catabolism, variable extracellular fluid volume, and coagulation disturbances. This study was undertaken in a cohort of patients with ARF requiring HD, to quantify patient- and dialysis-related variables that influence dialysis delivery. The urea reduction ratio (URR) was calculated for each HD session.