Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN
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Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · Jun 2017
ReviewCould MRI Be Used To Image Kidney Fibrosis? A Review of Recent Advances and Remaining Barriers.
A key contributor to the progression of nearly all forms of CKD is fibrosis, a largely irreversible process that drives further kidney injury. Despite its importance, clinicians currently have no means of noninvasively assessing renal scar, and thus have historically relied on percutaneous renal biopsy to assess fibrotic burden. ⋯ Recent advances in imaging technology have raised the exciting possibility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based renal scar analysis, by capitalizing on the differing physical features of fibrotic and nonfibrotic tissue. In this review, we describe two key fibrosis-induced pathologic changes (capillary loss and kidney stiffening) that can be imaged by MRI techniques, and the potential for these new MRI-based technologies to noninvasively image renal scar.
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Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · Jun 2017
Time-Varying Association of Individual BP Components with eGFR in Late-Stage CKD.
The association of individual BP components with changes in eGFR in patients with late-stage CKD is unknown. The objectives of our study were to examine the associations of systolic BP, diastolic BP, and pulse pressure with continuous temporal changes in eGFR and an eGFR decline ≥30% in late-stage CKD. ⋯ In patients referred to a multidisciplinary care clinic with late-stage CKD, only extremes of systolic BP and elevations of diastolic BP were associated with eGFR decline.
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The exploration of electronic hospital records offers a unique opportunity to describe in-depth the prevalence of conditions associated with diagnoses at an unprecedented level of comprehensiveness. We used a diagnosis-wide approach, adapted from phenome-wide association studies (PheWAS), to perform an exhaustive analysis of all diagnoses associated with hospital-acquired AKI (HA-AKI) in a French urban tertiary academic hospital over a period of 10 years. ⋯ Our approach, derived from PheWAS, is a valuable way to comprehensively identify and classify all of the diagnoses and clusters of diagnoses associated with HA-AKI. Our analysis delivers insights into how diagnoses associated with HA-AKI evolved over time. On the basis of ICD-10 codes, HA-AKI appears largely underestimated in this academic hospital.
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Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · May 2017
Qualitative Interviews Exploring Palliative Care Perspectives of Latinos on Dialysis.
Compared with non-Latino whites with advanced illness, Latinos are less likely to have an advance directive or to die with hospice services. To improve palliative care disparities, international ESRD guidelines call for increased research on culturally responsive communication of advance care planning (ACP). The objective of our study was to explore the preferences of Latino patients receiving dialysis regarding symptom management and ACP. ⋯ Latinos described unique cultural preferences such as avoidance of medications for symptom alleviation and a preference to have family group decision-making and ACP conversations at home. Understanding and integrating cultural values and preferences into palliative care offers the potential to improve disparities and achieve quality patient-centered care for Latinos with advanced illness.
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Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · May 2017
Randomized Controlled TrialEffect of Uric Acid Lowering on Renin-Angiotensin-System Activation and Ambulatory BP: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Higher serum uric acid levels, even within the reference range, are strongly associated with increased activity of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and risk of incident hypertension. However, the effect of lowering serum uric acid on RAS activity in humans is unknown, although the data that lowering serum uric acid can reduce BP are conflicting. ⋯ In contrast to animal experiments and observational studies, this randomized, placebo-controlled trial found that uric acid lowering had no effect on kidney-specific or systemic RAS activity after 8 weeks or on mean systolic BP. These data do not support the hypothesis that higher levels of uric acid are a reversible risk factor for increased BP.