Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN
-
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · Jun 2015
What Medical Directors Need to Know about Dialysis Facility Water Management.
The medical directors of dialysis facilities have many operational clinic responsibilities, which on first glance, may seem outside the realm of excellence in patient care. However, a smoothly running clinic is integral to positive patient outcomes. Of the conditions for coverage outlined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, one most critical to quality dialysis treatment is the provision of safe purified dialysis water, because there are many published instances where clinic failure in this regard has resulted in patient harm. ⋯ Each water treatment system component has a specific role in the process and requires individualized maintenance and monitoring. The medical director should provide leadership by being engaged with the process, knowing the facility's source water, and understanding water treatment system operation as well as the clinical significance of system failure. Successful provision of quality water will be achieved by those medical directors who learn, know, and embrace the requirements of dialysis water purification and system maintenance.
-
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · Jun 2015
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Observational StudyAssociation of BP with Death, Cardiovascular Events, and Progression to Chronic Dialysis in Patients with Advanced Kidney Disease.
The optimal BP target to reduce adverse clinical outcomes in patients with CKD is unclear. This study examined the relationship between BP and death, cardiovascular events (CVEs), and kidney disease progression in patients with advanced kidney disease. ⋯ In patients with advanced kidney disease not undergoing dialysis, higher PP was strongly associated with CVE whereas higher SBP and DBP were associated with progression to long-term dialysis. These results suggest that SBP and DBP should not be the only factors considered in determining antihypertensive therapy; elevated PP should also be considered.
-
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · Jun 2015
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyObstructive Sleep Apnea Severity and Overnight Body Fluid Shift before and after Hemodialysis.
Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with significantly increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Fluid overload may promote obstructive sleep apnea in patients with ESRD through an overnight fluid shift from the legs to the neck soft tissues. Body fluid shift and severity of obstructive sleep apnea before and after hemodialysis were compared in patients with ESRD. ⋯ Fluid overload influences overnight rostral fluid shift and obstructive sleep apnea severity in patients with ESRD undergoing intermittent hemodialysis. Although no benefit of hemodialysis on obstructive sleep apnea severity was observed in the whole group, the change in obstructive apnea-hypopnea index was significantly correlated with the change in fluid overload after hemodialysis. Moreover, the subgroup with lower fluid overload posthemodialysis showed a significantly lower obstructive sleep apnea severity, which provides a strong incentive to further study whether optimizing fluid status in patients with obstructive sleep apnea and ESRD will improve the obstructive apnea-hypopnea index.
-
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · Jun 2015
Comparative StudyInduction Therapies in Live Donor Kidney Transplantation on Tacrolimus and Mycophenolate With or Without Steroid Maintenance.
Induction therapy with IL-2 receptor antagonist (IL2-RA) is recommended as a first line agent in living donor renal transplantation (LRT). However, use of IL2-RA remains controversial in LRT with tacrolimus (TAC)/mycophenolic acid (MPA) with or without steroids. ⋯ Compared with no-induction therapy, IL2-RA induction was not associated with better outcomes when TAC/MPA/steroids were used in LRT recipients. r-ATG appears to be an acceptable and possibly the preferred induction alternative for IL2-RA in steroid-avoidance protocols.
-
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · Jun 2015
Comparative StudyComparison of Subdural Hematoma Risk between Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis Patients with ESRD.
This study compared the risk of subdural hematoma (SDH) and subsequent mortality in hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients with ESRD. ⋯ HD patients have a higher risk of developing SDH than PD patients. Both patient groups have a high risk of mortality. Routine education on fall prevention is needed for dialysis patients.