Nephrology, dialysis, transplantation : official publication of the European Dialysis and Transplant Association - European Renal Association
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Nephrol. Dial. Transplant. · Aug 1999
Rapid and accurate assessment of glomerular filtration rate in patients with renal transplants using serum cystatin C.
Assessment of renal function in patients with renal transplants is of great importance. Various studies have reported cystatin C as an easily and rapidly assessable marker that can be used for accurate information on renal function impairment. To date, no study is available to define the role of cystatin C in patients with renal transplants. ⋯ Together, our data show that in patients with renal transplants, cystatin C, in terms of PPV and PLR, has a similar diagnostic value as creatinine clearance. However, it is superior to serum determinations of creatinine and beta2M. The intraindividual variation of cystatin C is greater than that of creatinine. This might be due to the better ability of cystatin C to reflect temporary changes especially in mildly impaired GFR, most critical for early detection of rejection and other function impairment. Thus, cystatin C allows for rapid and accurate assessment of renal function (GFR) in renal transplants and is clearly superior to the commonly used serum creatinine.
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Nephrol. Dial. Transplant. · Aug 1999
Comparative StudyUsefulness of quantitative heel ultrasound compared with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in determining bone mineral density in chronic haemodialysis patients.
Reduced bone mineral density (BMD) is associated with renal osteodystrophy and osteoporosis in end-stage renal failure patients. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the standard non-invasive method to assess BMD, but is not always widely available. Quantitative heel ultrasound (QUS) is a mobile, relatively inexpensive, easy to perform and radiation-free method which can predict fractures to the same extent as DXA. This study assessed the usefulness of QUS vs DXA in determining BMD in chronic haemodialysis patients. ⋯ DXA and QUS parameters were significantly correlated. However, sensitivities and specificities of QUS parameters were not sufficiently high for QUS to be used simply as an alternative to DXA. The relatively high negative predictive values suggest that QUS may reliably screen out patients unlikely to have a BMD in the osteoporotic range. The relatively low positive predictive values, however, mean that subjects classified as osteoporotic using QUS require further investigations such as DXA to confirm the diagnosis.