Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN
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Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · Apr 2014
Multicenter StudyPerformance and limitations of administrative data in the identification of AKI.
Billing codes are frequently used to identify AKI events in epidemiologic research. The goals of this study were to validate billing code-identified AKI against the current AKI consensus definition and to ascertain whether sensitivity and specificity vary by patient characteristic or over time. ⋯ The use of billing codes to identify AKI has low sensitivity compared with the current KDIGO consensus definition, especially when the urine output criterion is included, and results in the identification of a more severe phenotype. Epidemiologic studies using billing codes may benefit from a high specificity, but the variation in sensitivity may result in bias, particularly when trends over time are the outcome of interest.
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Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · Apr 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative StudyA randomized comparison of ferumoxytol and iron sucrose for treating iron deficiency anemia in patients with CKD.
Few randomized controlled trials have compared intravenous iron products head to head in CKD patients with iron deficiency anemia. This study compared the efficacy and safety of two intravenous iron products (ferumoxytol [Feraheme injection] and iron sucrose [Venofer]) in patients with CKD and iron deficiency anemia. ⋯ In this randomized, controlled trial, ferumoxytol and iron sucrose showed comparable efficacy and adverse events rates.
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Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · Apr 2014
Comparative StudyRisk of catheter-related bloodstream infection in elderly patients on hemodialysis.
Elderly patients require tunneled central vein dialysis catheters more often than younger patients. Little is known about the risk of catheter-related bloodstream infection in this population. ⋯ Elderly patients on hemodialysis using tunneled central vein dialysis catheters are at lower risk of catheter-related bloodstream infection than their younger counterparts. For some elderly patients, tunneled central vein dialysis catheters may represent a suitable dialysis access option in the setting of nonmaturing arteriovenous fistulae or poorly functioning synthetic grafts.
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Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · Apr 2014
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyIncorporation of biomarkers with the renal angina index for prediction of severe AKI in critically ill children.
Novel AKI biomarkers carry variable performance for prediction of AKI in patients with heterogeneous illness. Until utility is demonstrated in critically ill patients outside of the cardiopulmonary bypass population, AKI biomarkers are unlikely to gain widespread implementation. Operationalization of an AKI risk stratification methodology, termed renal angina, was recently reported to enhance prediction at the time of intensive care unit admission for persistent severe AKI. The renal angina index (RAI) was developed to provide the clinical context to direct AKI biomarker testing. This study tested the hypothesis that incorporation of AKI biomarkers in patients fulfilling renal angina improves the prediction of persistent severe AKI. ⋯ This study shows that incorporation of AKI biomarkers into the RAI improves discrimination for severe AKI. The RAI optimizes the utility of AKI biomarkers in a heterogeneous, critically ill patient population.
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Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · Apr 2014
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyDialysis versus nondialysis in patients with AKI: a propensity-matched cohort study.
The benefit of the initiation of dialysis for AKI may differ depending on patient factors, but, because of a lack of robust evidence, the decision to initiate dialysis for AKI remains subjective in many cases. Prior studies examining dialysis initiation for AKI have examined outcomes of dialyzed patients compared with other dialyzed patients with different characteristics. Without an adequate nondialyzed control group, these studies cannot provide information on the benefit of dialysis initiation. To determine which patients would benefit from initiation of dialysis for AKI, a propensity-matched cohort study was performed among a large population of patients with severe AKI. ⋯ Dialysis was associated with increased survival when initiated in patients with AKI who have a more elevated creatinine level but was associated with increased mortality when initiated in patients with lower creatinine concentrations.