American journal of nephrology
-
The epidemiology of hypertension among hemodialysis (HD) patients is difficult to describe accurately because of difficulties in the assessment of blood pressure (BP). ⋯ Interdialytic hypertension is highly prevalent and difficult to control among HD patients. End-expiration IVC diameter is associated with poor control of hypertension in cross-sectional analyses as well as after washout of antihypertensive drugs. Among HD patients, an attractive target for improving hypertension control appears to be the reduction of extracellular fluid volume.
-
Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) remains a leading cause of iatrogenic acute renal failure. Terlipressin, a long-acting analog of vasopressin, may improve renal function. This study aimed to investigate the possible protective effect of terlipressin against the development of experimental CIN in rats. ⋯ These results demonstrate that terlipressin can inhibit the development of CIN.
-
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in patients undergoing cardiac surgery and is associated with a high rate of death, long-term sequelae and healthcare costs. We conducted a systematic review of randomized controlled trials for strategies to prevent or treat AKI in cardiac surgery. ⋯ This summary of all the literature on prevention and treatment strategies for AKI in cardiac surgery highlights the need for better information. The results advocate large, good-quality, multicenter studies to determine whether promising interventions reliably reduce rates of acute renal replacement therapy and mortality in the cardiac surgery setting.
-
Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) is an important cause of acute renal injury. Several clinical trials using renal replacement therapy (RRT) for prevention of CI-AKI yielded conflicting results. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of prophylactic RRT on CI-AKI. ⋯ RRT fails to reduce the incidence of CI-AKI in CKD stage 3 patients, but may be beneficial in patients with more advanced renal function. CRRT is more effective than hemodialysis for prevention of CI-AKI. RRT is effective in reducing the in-hospital mortality of CI-AKI patients.
-
Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scanning is used to assess bone mineral content and diagnose osteoporosis. We had noted anecdotal cases of patients attending for DEXA scanning following recent ingestion of barium-containing radiocontrast media, resulting in spuriously increased bone mineral content. Lanthanum carbonate is prescribed to chronic kidney disease patients as a non-calcium-containing phosphate binder, and as lanthanum is denser than barium, we wondered whether this could affect DEXA scan bone mineral estimations. ⋯ DEXA scanning in patients prescribed lanthanum can lead to an erroneously high estimation of bone mineral content in areas of the skeleton adjacent to the bowel when the electron beam meets lanthanum.