Saudi journal of kidney diseases and transplantation : an official publication of the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation, Saudi Arabia
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Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl · Jul 2008
Comparative analysis of azathioprine versus cyclosporine-based therapy in primary haplo-identical live-donor kidney transplantation: a 20-year experience.
Chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) remains a major cause of graft failure over the long term, second only to patient mortality. The main adverse effects of cyclosporine A (CsA) include nephrotoxicity, hypertension, symptomatic hyperuricemia, hirsutism, and gum hyperplasia. Available studies among live related donor renal transplants lack adequate information regarding the long-term efficacy and safety of primary CsA-based immunosuppressive regimens. ⋯ Our study suggests that the long-term results of treatment with steroids and azathioprine are satisfactory in live related donor kidney transplant recipients. Chronic rejection was significantly higher in patients in group III, possibly due to the risk of CsA nephrotoxicity. Groups with CsA-based protocols experienced many adverse reactions of CsA such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and chronic rejection.
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Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl · Jul 2008
EditorialRenal replacement therapy in acute kidney injury: which method to use in the intensive care unit?
Over the last three decades the treatment options for patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT) have expanded from basic acute peritoneal dialysis and intermittent hemodialysis (IHD), to now include a variety of continuous modalities (CRRT), ranging from hemofiltration, dialysis and/or hemodiafiltration, and a variety of hybrid therapies, variously described as extended daily dialysis and/or hemodiafiltration, with the possibility of additional adjunct therapies encompassing plasma separation and adsorption techniques. Current evidence does not support that one modality is superior to any other in terms of patients' survival in the intensive care unit, or at discharge. There have been two prospective audits, which have reported improved renal recovery in the survivors who were treated by CRRT rather than IHD, but this has not been confirmed in randomized controlled trials. Thus the choice of RRT modality should be guided by the individual patients' clinical status, the medical and nursing expertise in the local intensive care unit, and the availability of RRT modality.