IPNA clinical practice recommendations for the diagnosis and management of children with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome.

Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome newly affects 1-3 per 100,000 children per year. Approximately 85% of cases show complete remission of proteinuria following glucocorticoid treatment. Patients who do not achieve complete remission within 4-6 weeks of glucocorticoid treatment have steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS).

Adrenal Insufficiency in Children With Nephrotic Syndrome on Corticosteroid Treatment.

Adrenal insufficiency can result from impaired functions at all levels of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. We here studied risk factors associated with adrenal insufficiency in children receiving prolonged exogenous steroid treatment for nephrotic syndrome. We performed low-dose Synacthen tests (LDSTs, 0.

How public and private reforms dramatically improved access to dialysis therapy in Malaysia.

Between 1990 and 2005, dialysis treatment rates in Malaysia increased more than eightfold. Dialysis treatment reached a level comparable to rates in developed countries. This remarkable transformation was brought about in large part by the Malaysian government's large-scale purchase of dialysis services from the highly competitive private sector.

Review article: Use of renal registry data for research, health-care planning and quality improvement: what can we learn from registry data in the Asia-Pacific region?

We review renal registry data from the Asia-Pacific region with an emphasis on their uses in health care and in dialysis care in particular. The review aims to demonstrate the information value of registry data. While renal registry provides a useful data resource for epidemiological research, there are severe methodological limitations in its application for analytical or therapeutic research.

A randomized, multicenter, open-label trial to establish therapeutic equivalence between the Carex and ultra disconnect systems in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

Objective: In the present study, we undertook to establish therapeutic equivalence with respect to peritonitis and technique failure between the Carex disconnect system (B. Braun Carex, Mirandola, Italy) and the standard Ultra system (Baxter Healthcare, Tokyo, Japan) in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD).

Design: This multicenter, parallel group, randomized controlled trial involved 363 prevalent CAPD patients from 8 centers.

A randomized, multicenter, open-label trial to determine peritonitis rate, product defect, and technique survival between ANDY-Disc and UltraBag in patients on CAPD.

Background: With the various twin-bag systems available on the market, we decided to conduct a therapeutic equivalence study comparing ANDY-Disc (Fresenius Medical Care, Bad Homburg, Germany) with UltraBag (Baxter, Deerfield, IL) in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) therapy.

Methods: This multicenter, open-label, parallel-group, randomized trial is designed to show the therapeutic equivalence of ANDY-Disc with UltraBag. All CAPD patients from the 6 participating centers who met inclusion/exclusion criteria were enrolled into the trial.

Anthropometric and growth assessment of children receiving renal replacement therapy in Malaysia.

Objective: To report on the anthropometric and growth status of children receiving renal replacement therapy (RRT) in Malaysia.

Design: Cross-sectional study with some retrospective elements.

Setting: Outpatients' clinics in a major referral hospital in Malaysia.