Alleviating symptoms in patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis: a focus on chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus.

Since the breakthrough of kidney replacement therapy, increases in life expectancy for patients with end-stage kidney disease have been limited. However, patients have become increasingly vocal that, although mortality and life expectancy matter to them, the quality of their life, and particularly the relief of symptoms associated with their treatment, are in many cases more important. The majority of dialysis-associated symptoms and adverse effects do not currently have any approved treatments in this patient population, with the few treatments that are available used off-label, frequently without proven efficacy, yet still potentially adding further adverse effects to patients' current symptom burden.

Effects of finerenone in people with chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes are independent of HbA1c at baseline, HbA1c variability, diabetes duration and insulin use at baseline.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of finerenone by baseline HbA1c, HbA1c variability, diabetes duration and baseline insulin use on cardiorenal outcomes and diabetes progression.

Materials And Methods: Composite efficacy outcomes included cardiovascular (cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke or hospitalization for heart failure), kidney (kidney failure, sustained ≥ 57% estimated glomerular filtration rate decline or renal death) and diabetes progression (new insulin initiation, increase in antidiabetic medication, 1.0% increase in HbA1c from baseline, new diabetic ketoacidosis diagnosis or uncontrolled diabetes).

Immunocompromised Children With Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Possess a Distinct Circulating Inflammatory Profile.

Unlabelled: Immunocompromised status, with and without stem cell transplant, confers a worse prognosis in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome. An improved understanding of the biochemical profile of immunocompromised children with acute respiratory distress syndrome would inform whether specific pathways are targetable, or merely bystanders, in order to improve outcomes in this high-risk subgroup.

Objectives: We aimed to identify a biomarker profile of immunocompromised children, with and without stem cell transplant, independent of illness severity.

Finerenone and effects on mortality in chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes: a FIDELITY analysis.

Aims: Finerenone reduces the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). We investigated the causes of mortality in the FIDELITY population.

Methods And Results: The FIDELITY prespecified pooled data analysis from FIDELIO-DKD and FIGARO-DKD excluded patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction.

Knockout of secretin ameliorates biliary and liver phenotypes during alcohol-induced hepatotoxicity.

Background: Alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) is characterized by ductular reaction (DR), liver inflammation, steatosis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis. The secretin (Sct)/secretin receptor (SR) axis (expressed only by cholangiocytes) regulates liver phenotypes in cholestasis. We evaluated the role of Sct signaling on ALD phenotypes.

Effect of finerenone on ambulatory blood pressure in chronic kidney disease in type 2 diabetes.

Objective: Finerenone is a selective nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist with a short half-life. Its effects on cardiorenal outcomes were thought to be mediated primarily via nonhemodynamic pathways, but office blood pressure (BP) measurements were insufficient to fully assess hemodynamic effects. This analysis assessed the effects of finerenone on 24-h ambulatory BP in patients with chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes.

Ventilation Strategies During Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Neonatal Respiratory Failure: Current Approaches Among Level IV Neonatal ICUs.

Unlabelled: To describe ventilation strategies used during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for neonatal respiratory failure among level IV neonatal ICUs (NICUs).

Design: Cross-sectional electronic survey.

Setting: Email-based Research Electronic Data Capture survey.

Traumatic abdominal wall hernias in the pediatric population: a 13-year institutional review.

Background: Pediatric traumatic abdominal wall hernias are rare but potentially devastating injuries. Although classically considered to be caused by handlebar injuries from bicycle accidents, our anecdotal experience suggests pediatric traumatic abdominal wall hernias are far more likely to occur following road traffic accidents and have a high association with other significant intra-abdominal injuries.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency, mechanisms of injury, and associated injuries of traumatic abdominal wall hernias in the pediatric population.

Review article: the safety of anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents in patients with cirrhosis.

Patients with cirrhosis were long thought to be coagulopathic. However, this paradigm has changed in recent years and currently, cirrhosis is recognised as a prothrombotic state. Due to the increasing incidence of cirrhosis from nonalcoholic steatohepatitis which is closely associated with cardiac disease, patients with cirrhosis increasingly require therapy with anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents.

Demographic, Reproductive, and Medical Risk Factors for Intrauterine Device Expulsion.

Objective: To explore to what extent intrauterine device (IUD) expulsion is associated with demographic and clinical risk factors.

Methods: The APEX-IUD (Association of Perforation and Expulsion of IntraUterine Devices) study was a U.S.

Starting an Emergency Radiology Division: Scheduling and Staffing, Compensation, and Equity and Parity.

Establishing an emergency radiology division in a practice that has long-standing patterns of operational routines comes with both challenges and opportunities. In this article, considerations around scheduling and staffing, compensation, and equity and parity are provided with supporting literature references. Furthermore, a panel of experts having established, grown and managed emergency radiology divisions in North America and Europe share their experiences through a question and answer format.

Finerenone and Heart Failure Outcomes by Kidney Function/Albuminuria in Chronic Kidney Disease and Diabetes.

Background: In patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), risks of cardiovascular mortality and heart failure (HF) increase with decreasing kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR]) and increasing albuminuria (urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio [UACR]). Finerenone, a selective, nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, improved cardiorenal outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and T2D in FIDELITY (Finerenone in Chronic Kidney Disease and Type 2 Diabetes: Combined FIDELIO-DKD and FIGARO-DKD Trial Programme Analysis).

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the effects of finerenone on HF outcomes by eGFR and/or UACR categories.

Targeting Mitochondria and Oxidative Stress in Cancer- and Chemotherapy-Induced Muscle Wasting.

Cancer is frequently associated with the early appearance of cachexia, a multifactorial wasting syndrome. If not present at diagnosis, cachexia develops either as a result of tumor progression or as a side effect of anticancer treatments, especially of standard chemotherapy, eventually representing the direct cause of death in up to one-third of all cancer patients. Cachexia, within its multiorgan affection, is characterized by severe loss of muscle mass and function, representing the most relevant subject of preclinical and clinical investigation.

Association of Finerenone Use With Reduction in Treatment-Emergent Pneumonia and COVID-19 Adverse Events Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease: A FIDELITY Pooled Secondary Analysis.

Importance: Patients with chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of developing pneumonia as well as an increased risk of severe COVID-19-associated adverse events and mortality. Therefore, the anti-inflammatory effects of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists via blockade of the mineralocorticoid receptor may alter the risk of pneumonia and COVID-19-associated adverse events in patients with chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes.

Objective: To evaluate whether the selective, nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist finerenone is associated with protection against pneumonia and COVID-19 adverse events in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

Evolution of Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonists in the Treatment of Chronic Kidney Disease Associated with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the most frequent complications associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and is also an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) is a nuclear receptor expressed in many tissue types, including kidney and heart. Aberrant and long-term activation of MR by aldosterone in patients with T2DM triggers detrimental effects (eg, inflammation and fibrosis) in these tissues.

Blood Pressure and Cardiorenal Outcomes With Finerenone in Chronic Kidney Disease in Type 2 Diabetes.

Background: Chronic kidney disease is frequently associated with hypertension and poorly controlled blood pressure can lead to chronic kidney disease progression. Finerenone, a nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, significantly improves cardiorenal outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes. This analysis explored the relationship between office systolic blood pressure (SBP) and cardiorenal outcomes with finerenone in FIDELIO-DKD trial (Finerenone in Reducing Kidney Failure and Disease Progression in Diabetic Kidney Disease).

Finerenone efficacy in patients with chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Aims: Finerenone, a selective, non-steroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, improves cardiovascular (CV) and kidney outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). This subgroup analysis of FIDELITY, a pre-specified, pooled, individual patient-data analysis of FIDELIO-DKD (NCT02540993) and FIGARO-DKD (NCT02545049), compared finerenone vs. placebo in patients with and without baseline history of atherosclerotic CV disease (ASCVD).

Finerenone in patients across the spectrum of chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes by glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist use.

Aims: To explore the modifying effect of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) use on outcomes with finerenone across a wide spectrum of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in the pooled analysis of FIDELIO-DKD and FIGARO-DKD.

Materials And Methods: Patients with T2D and CKD treated with optimized renin-angiotensin system blockade were randomized to finerenone or placebo. Effects of finerenone on a cardiovascular composite outcome (cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure) and a kidney composite outcome (kidney failure, sustained ≥57% estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] decline, or renal death), change in urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), and safety were analysed by GLP-1RA use.

A Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce Unneeded Screening Chest Radiographs in a Pediatric Cardiovascular ICU.

Background: Adult critical care and radiographical societies have recommended changing practice from routine screening radiographs to on-demand chest radiographs (CXRs) for stable mechanically ventilated adult patients. There are no similar recommendations for patients in the pediatric ICU. Reducing the frequency with which unneeded CXRs are obtained can decrease radiation exposure and reduce waste, a substantial contributor to rising health care costs.

Using the Eat Sleep Console Model to Promote Optimal Care and Outcomes for Infants With Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: A Nurse-Driven, Multidisciplinary Initiative.

Background: A nurse led a team of providers in a quality improvement (QI) project to positively impact inpatient care and outcomes for infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). The Eat Sleep Console (ESC) model was implemented to promote rooming-in and family-centered care as part of a nonpharmacological treatment approach.

Purpose: To compare the ESC model with the traditional Finnegan treatment approach to describe differences in infants' pharmacotherapy use (morphine), length of stay (LOS), weight loss, consumption of mother's own milk by any feeding method within 24 hours of discharge, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) use, and Pediatric Unit utilization.

Frequency, Demographics, Comorbidities, and Health Care Utilization by Veterans With Migraine: A VA Nationwide Cohort Study.

Background And Objective: To describe the relative frequency, demographics, comorbidities, and health care utilization of veterans who receive migraine care at the Veteran's Health Administration (VHA) and to evaluate differences by gender.

Methods: This study extracted data from VHA administrative sources. Veterans diagnosed with migraine by a health care provider between fiscal year 2008 and 2019 were included.

Scoping Review: Neurocognitive Outcome Assessments After Critical Illness in Children.

Objectives: To map the literature regarding assessment of neurocognitive outcomes in PICU survivors. Secondary objectives were to identify literature gaps and to provide data for development of a Core Outcome Measures Set in the domain.

Methods: Planned, analysis was performed of data from an over-all scoping review of Post-Intensive Care Syndrome-pediatrics (PICS-p) functional outcomes.

The NIDDK Diabetic Foot Consortium.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Diabetic Foot Consortium (DFC) was established in September 2018 by the NIDDK to build an organization to facilitate the highest quality of clinical research on diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) that will answer clinically significant questions to improve DFU healing and prevent amputations. The initial focus of the DFC is to develop and validate biomarkers for DFUs that can be used in clinical care and research. The DFC consists of a data coordinating center (DCC) for operational oversight and statistical analysis, clinical sites for participant recruitment and evaluation, and biomarker analysis units (BAUs).