American journal of kidney diseases : the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation
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The cadaveric renal transplantation process involves steps related to medical suitability, interest in transplantation, pretransplantation workup, and movement up a waiting list. Failure to complete specific steps may be caused by remaining stationary at that step, moving backward to a previous step, or dying. Knowing the relative importance of these types of movement may enable the development of strategies that improve the efficiency and equity of the transplantation process. ⋯ Compared with whites, blacks were more likely to remain stationary at steps A (odds ratio [OR], 1.96) and B (OR, 1.52), more likely to move backward at step B (OR, 1.79), and less likely to die at steps A through C (ORs, 0.45 to 0.60). In conclusion, failure to move through the transplantation process is usually caused by remaining stationary at specific steps rather than moving backward or dying. The relative importance of these types of movement differs among blacks and whites.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Treatment of Severe Intradialytic Hypotension With the Addition of High Dialysate Calcium Concentration to Midodrine and/or Cool Dialysate.
Treatment of intradialytic hypotension (IDH) in the end-stage renal disease population has been a difficult task for nephrologists caring for these patients. The presence of multiple pathogenic factors contributes to hemodynamic instability and explains why therapies that modulate only a specific aspect of the problem are only partially effective. Cool dialysate (34.5 degrees C to 35.5 degrees C) and midodrine may provide hemodynamic stability through an increase in peripheral vascular resistance, whereas high dialysate calcium concentration (HDCa; 3.5 mEq/L) improves intradialytic blood pressure through preservation of cardiac output. ⋯ Thus, it appears that the addition of HDCa to midodrine and/or cool dialysate further improves blood pressure in patients with IDH. However, this therapy did not reduce symptoms or interventions required for IDH. In addition, hypercalcemia complicated this therapy in 22% of the patients.
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Clinical Trial
Prokinetic agents increase plasma albumin in hypoalbuminemic chronic dialysis patients with delayed gastric emptying.
Hypoalbuminemia is a surrogate of malnutrition in patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing chronic dialysis and commonly improves with prescription of adequate nutrition and dialysis. Nevertheless, some patients remain hypoalbuminemic for poorly understood reasons. We tested the hypotheses that chronic dialysis patients who remain hypoalbuminemic despite prescription of adequate nutrition and dialysis (1) have delayed gastric emptying, and (2) that prokinetic agents will increase plasma albumin (P(alb)) levels in patients with delayed gastric emptying. ⋯ Hypoalbuminemic patients were prescribed prokinetics and followed prospectively for 6 months, during which time gastric T(1/2) decreased to 53.9 +/- 3.3 minutes (P < 0.01 versus initial) and P(alb) increased from 3.1 +/- 0.2 to 3.5 +/- 0.2 mg/dL (P < 0.004). The net increase in P(alb) level correlated with the net decrease in gastric T(1/2) (r(2) = 0.4; P < 0.04) by linear regression. The data show that some persistently hypoalbuminemic chronic dialysis patients have poor gastric emptying and increase their P(alb) levels in response to prokinetic agents.
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Nephrogenic ascites is a complex problem with a poorly understood pathophysiology. We report the case of a patient with nephrogenic ascites and concomitant secondary hyperparathyroidism who was resistant to the usual treatment but had a complete resolution after subtotal parathyroidectomy. We believe that secondary hyperparathyroidism might be implicated in the pathogenesis of nephrogenic ascites.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Atrial natriuretic factor in oliguric acute renal failure. Anaritide Acute Renal Failure Study Group.
Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), an endogenous hormone synthesized by the cardiac atria, has been shown to improve renal function in multiple animal models of acute renal failure. In a recent multicenter clinical trial of 504 patients with acute tubular necrosis (oliguric and nonoliguric), ANP decreased the need for dialysis only in the oliguric patients. In the present study, 222 patients with oliguric acute renal failure were enrolled into a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial designed to assess prospectively the safety and efficacy of ANP compared with placebo. ⋯ One hundred two of 108 (95%) versus 63 of 114 (55%) patients in the ANP and placebo groups had systolic blood pressures less than 90 mm Hg during the study-drug infusion (P < 0.001). The maximal absolute decrease in systolic blood pressure was significantly greater in the anaritide group than placebo group (33.6 versus 23.9 mm Hg; P < 0.001). This well-characterized population with oliguric acute renal failure had an overall high morbidity and mortality.