Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN
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Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · Jan 2009
Comparative Study Clinical TrialCorrelation of point-of-care International Normalized Ratio to laboratory International Normalized Ratio in hemodialysis patients taking warfarin.
To determine whether point-of-care (POC) International Normalized Ratio (INR) test results correlate with plasma INR measures in intermittent hemodialysis (IHD) patients on warfarin. Anemia is thought to reduce the accuracy of POC INR assay results. Whether POC INR testing could be implemented for hemodialysis patients on chronic warfarin, who are often anemic despite hematopoietic therapy, has not been established. ⋯ POC INR correlates well with plasma INR measures in IHD patients requiring chronic warfarin, and anemia did not influence this reliability. Blood sampling from finger stick or arteriovenous graft or fistula showed excellent correlation with laboratory INR, whereas sampling from dialysis catheters was unsatisfactory, likely from heparin contamination.
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Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · Jan 2009
ReviewNephrology training programs and applicants: a very good match.
A critical mission of academic nephrology programs is training the next generation of nephrologists. Attracting high-quality candidates into nephrology training programs is the first step in this process. The training program directors (TPDs) in nephrology launched an initiative several years ago to standardize the application and recruitment process for applicants to their programs. ⋯ On the basis of a survey of nephrology TPDs, the match process was successful, with almost all respondents planning on participating in the match with a start date of July 1, 2010. Certain issues remain, including determining the correct number of interviews, how many applicants to rank, and whether four tracks are necessary. It is concluded that the nephrology match is of benefit to both training programs and applicants.