Randomized double-blind trial of oral essential amino acids for dialysis-associated hypoalbuminemia.
Hypoalbuminemia is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality in dialysis patients.
...Subjects with a mean three-month prestudy serum albumin of 3.8 g/dL or less and who demonstrated ≥90% compliance during a two-week run-in period were randomized to 3.6 g of essential amino acids (EAAs) or placebo three times daily with meals for three months. Randomization was stratified by dialysis modality and by severity of the hypoalbuminemia. The primary study outcome was change in the average of three monthly serum albumin measurements between baseline and follow-up.
Fifty-two patients were randomized; 47 patients (29 hemodialysis and 18 peritoneal dialysis) met the predetermined primary analysis criteria. The mean compliance rates averaged 75, 70, and 50% at months 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and were similar for EAAs and placebo. Serum albumin in the hemodialysis patients, EAA versus placebo, improved (mean ± SE) 0.22 ± 0.09 g/dL, P = 0.02. Changes in peritoneal dialysis patients were not significant (0.01 ± 0.15 g/dL), but approached significance for the total study group (0.14 ± 0.08 g/dL, P = 0.08). Patients in the very low albumin strata (<3.5 g/dL) improved more than those in the low albumin strata (3.5 to 3.8 g/dL, P < 0.01). There was a significant correlation (r = 0.83, P = 0.001) within the hemodialysis EAA group between the baseline C-reactive protein level and improvement in serum albumin. Improvements were also seen in grip strength and SF-12 mental health score, but not in serum amino acid levels, SF-12 physical health score, or anthropometric measurements.
Oral EAAs induce a significant improvement in the serum albumin concentration in hemodialysis but not peritoneal dialysis subjects. Further study of their long-term effects on morbidity and mortality is warranted.
Quiz Page December 2012 Sexton, Donal J., MD, MRCPI; Plant, William D., FRCPI; Eustace, Joseph A., MHS, FRCPI ...
American journal of kidney diseases,
12/2012, Letnik:
60, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Kidney failure is known to cause anemia, which is associated with a higher risk of cardiac failure and mortality. The impact of milder decreases in kidney function on hemoglobin levels and anemia in ...the US population, however, is unknown.
We analyzed a population-based sample of 15419 participants 20 years and older in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted from 1988 to 1994.
Lower kidney function was associated with a lower hemoglobin level and a higher prevalence and severity of anemia below, but not above, an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 60 mL/min per 1.73 m(2). Adjusted to the age of 60 years, the predicted median hemoglobin level among men (women) decreased from 14.9 (13.5) g/dL at an estimated GFR of 60 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) to 13.8 (12.2) g/dL at an estimated GFR of 30 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) and to 12.0 (10.3) g/dL at an estimated GFR of 15 mL/min per 1.73 m(2). The prevalence of anemia (hemoglobin level <12 g/dL in men and <11 g/dL in women) increased from 1% (95% confidence interval, 0.7%-2%) at an estimated GFR of 60 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) to 9% (95% confidence interval, 4%-19%) at an estimated GFR of 30 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) and to 33% (95% confidence interval, 11%-67%) at an estimated GFR of 15 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) among men and to 67% (95% confidence interval, 30%-90%) at an estimated GFR of 15 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) among women. An estimated GFR of 15 to 60 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) was present in 4% of the entire population and in 17% of the individuals with anemia.
Below an estimated GFR of 60 mL/min per 1.73 m(2), lower kidney function is strongly associated with a higher prevalence of anemia among the US adult population.
Native arteriovenous (AV) fistulae for hemodialysis vascular access are believed to be associated with fewer complications than synthetic polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts. We conducted a study ...among patients in the Dialysis Morbidity and Mortality Study to compare risk factors for complications of AV fistulae and PTFE grafts in men and women and to examine the effect of age on vascular access complications. We analyzed data from 833 incident patients with end-stage renal disease who had a PTFE graft (n = 621) or AV fistula (n = 212) in use 1 month after starting hemodialysis therapy. Follow-up using inpatient and outpatient Medicare administrative data identified a 1.8-times greater risk for a subsequent vascular access procedure for PTFE grafts (0.71 procedures/access-year) than for AV fistulae (0.39 procedures/access-year). Men with grafts and women with grafts or fistulae had a greater risk for a first subsequent access procedure than did men with fistulae (0.79, 0.65, and 0.59 versus 0.33 procedures/access-year, respectively). After adjustment for age, race, presence of diabetes mellitus, and history of smoking, peripheral vascular disease, and cardiovascular disease, use of a PTFE graft compared with an AV fistula was associated with a greater risk for a first subsequent procedure in men (relative hazard, 2.2; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.6 to 2.9), but not in women (relative hazard, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.7 to 1.4). The excess risk associated with a PTFE graft compared with an AV fistula was limited to men in the lower three quartiles of age (ie, ≤72 years). These data raise concern that the potential benefits of AV fistulae over PTFE grafts are not realized in women and older men. A better understanding of the determinants of successful access maturation and maintenance in these groups is needed.
Nebulized hypertonic saline is a highly effective therapy for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), yet 10% of patients are intolerant of hypertonic saline administered via jet nebulizer. Positive ...expiratory pressure (PEP) nebulizers splint open the airways and offers a more controlled rate of nebulization.
In 4 consecutive adult CF patients who were intolerant of hypertonic saline via jet nebulizer, we nebulized 6% hypertonic saline via a PEP nebulizer. We measured the number of days the patients required intravenous antibiotics from enrollment to study end, compared to an equal period before PEP, and the mean time between the patients' 3 most recent infective pulmonary exacerbation episodes before PEP to their next exacerbation after PEP. Patients also completed a Likert-scale adverse-effects questionnaire on hypertonic saline via PEP versus jet nebulizer.
The 4 patients had severe CF pulmonary disease and all fully tolerated hypertonic saline via PEP, for 77, 92, 128, and 137 days, respectively until the study end date. There were fewer days of antibiotics in 3 of the 4 patients, from 45 to 20 days, 66 to 14 days, and 28 to 0 days (mean relative risk reduction 53%, P = .11). The other patient had 63 days of antibiotics during both the PEP and the jet nebulizer periods. There was a mean 3.6-fold longer time to next infective pulmonary exacerbation during the PEP period (P = .07). Adverse effects were less with PEP: chest tightness 68% (P = .04), bad taste 62% (P = .06), cough 47% (P = .10), and sore throat 50% (P = .20).
Hypertonic saline via PEP nebulizer benefits CF patients who do not tolerate hypertonic saline via jet nebulizer.
Acute renal allograft rejection with intimal arteritis: Histologic predictors of response to therapy and graft survival.
Acute renal allograft rejection with intimal arteritis is designated by the ...widely used Banff 97 classification as type 2A or 2B depending on the extent of arteritis, without regard to interstitial inflammation or tubulitis. We examined whether the distinction between type 2A and 2B is relevant to short- and long-term clinical outcomes, and if outcomes in this subset of acute rejection also are affected by tubulitis, interstitial inflammation, and several additional histologic and clinical parameters.
Pathology records were searched to identify cases of acute renal allograft rejection with intimal arteritis diagnosed between January 1985 and September 2000. For each case, the patient's chart was reviewed to determine the response of the rejection episode to therapy, type(s) of therapy given, and length of graft survival. All biopsies were reviewed and Banff acute and chronic indices recorded by a pathologist blinded to these data. Biopsies not showing type 2A or 2B rejection were excluded, as were repeat biopsies from the same patient and cases with recurrent glomerular disease, viral infection, donor-specific antibodies, or more than mild chronic change.
The initial response to anti-rejection therapy was significantly worse in patients with type 2B acute rejection (N = 29) than in those with type 2A (N = 102) by univariate and multivariate analyses, despite more aggressive treatment of type 2B rejection. In a Cox proportional hazards model the hazard ratio for graft failure for 2B versus 2A was 1.9 (P = 0.05), but this was not significant when adjusted for the initial response to therapy. Cases with minimal or mild tubulitis responded better to therapy than those with moderate or severe tubulitis, although graft survival was not significantly affected by the tubulitis score.
The distinction between types 2A and 2B acute rejection in the Banff 97 classification has significant prognostic value with regard to both short- and long-term clinical outcomes, although the difference in long-term graft survival is mainly related to the initial response to therapy. Reports of biopsies showing type 2A or 2B rejection also should specify the degree of tubulitis present, as the latter may significantly influence the initial response to therapy.
To quantify the dietary calcium and vitamin D intake in adult renal-transplant recipients attending at a large teaching hospital in Ireland for follow-up.
Outpatient renal-transplant follow-up ...clinic.
Fifty-nine adult renal transplant recipients (58% male) with a mean age of 46 years, a median transplant duration of 6 years, and a mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 50 mL/min per 1.73 m2. Fifty-three percent were at National Kidney Foundation stage 3 chronic kidney disease, and 14% had stage 4 chronic kidney disease.
This cross-sectional, observational study used a tailored food frequency questionnaire specific for calcium and vitamin D intake in Irish adults, which was completed during a face-to-face interview with each subject.
The main outcome measure was the average daily dietary and supplemented calcium and vitamin D intake.
The median interquartile range (IQR) dietary calcium intake was 820 mg/day (range, 576-1,177 mg/day), and was similar in men and women (recommended intake > or = 1,000 mg/day in adult men and nonmenopausal adult women, > or = 1,500 mg/day in menopausal women). Five participants received calcium supplementation. Overall, 59% of men and 64% of women had total calcium intakes below the recommended amounts. The median IQR estimated dietary vitamin D intake was 5.2 microg/day (range, 2.4-6.4 microg/day) in women, and 4.6 microg/day (range, 2.2-6.6 microg/day) in men (recommended intake, > or = 10 microg/day). Six subjects received vitamin D supplementation. Total vitamin D intakes were suboptimal in 91% of men and 87% of women. Dietary calcium and vitamin D intakes significantly correlated with each other, but neither was significantly related to eGFR category, and was similarly low in both presumed menopausal women and in the initial year posttransplantation.
These findings suggest that dietary and total calcium and vitamin D intakes in adult renal-transplant patients are in many cases inadequate.
The relationship between calcium intake and serum calcium level in hemodialysis patients is poorly understood.
We quantify total oral calcium intake using detailed 7-day food diaries with 294 patient ...days of observation in 42 stable, non-diabetic hemodialysis subjects.
Mean (SD) albumin-corrected serum calcium was 9.84 mg/dl (0.8). The albumin-corrected serum calcium was low (<8.4 mg/dl) in 2 patients, low-normal (8.4-9.49) in 9 patients, high-normal (9.5-10.2) in 18 patients and high (>10.2) in 13 patients. Mean (SD) total (diet plus binder) oral calcium intake was 1996 mg/day (1,020); 16 patients (38%) had a total calcium intake >2,000 mg/day. Calcium intake and serum calcium were poorly correlated (Spearman rank method), r = 0.14, p = 0.39. Median calcium intakes were similar in those with normal (1,990 mg/day), high-normal (1,926 mg/day) and high calcium groups (1,713 mg/day), p = 0.73 (Kruskal-Wallis), p = 0.29 (linear test for trend). Forty-one percent (11/27) of patients who had serum calcium in the normal range had a calcium intake greater than 2 g/day, while 11.5% had a calcium intake greater than 3 g/day. In subjects with a parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentration <300 pg/ml (n = 20), the correlation between calcium intake and either uncorrected serum calcium or albumin-corrected serum calcium was stronger, r = 0.45, p = 0.05 and r = 0.38, p = 0.10, respectively, though there remained wide variability in calcium intake.
Serum calcium is not a reliable indicator of calcium intake, especially at PTH > or = 300 pg/ml. An excessive calcium intake may coexist with a normal serum calcium level.
Outpatient vancomycin use and vancomycin-resistant enterococcal colonization in maintenance dialysis patients.
Although outpatient vancomycin is widely used as empiric therapy for dialysis-associated ...infections, its relationship with vancomycin-resistant enterococcal (VRE) colonization is not established.
During a two-year prospective cohort study, rectal swabs obtained from patients at the start and finish of the study period and during interim hospitalizations were cultured for VRE.
Ten of 124 patients initially grew VRE. Twenty-four of the remaining patients had no follow-up cultures because of patient death (62%), transfer to another dialysis facility (17%), patient's refusal (7%), and transplantation (4%), and were thus excluded. The remaining patients (N = 90) had a median age of 54.3 years and were 92% African American and 50% male. Fifty-eight percent were treated by hemodialysis. They received 403g of intravenous vancomycin over 157.2 patient-years of follow-up, 73% as outpatients. Sixteen of 90 patients (17.8%) became colonized with VRE, an incidence rate of one case per 9.8 patient-years of follow-up. None of the 29 patients who did not receive vancomycin developed VRE compared with 26% of those treated with vancomycin (P = 0.001). The odds ratio (95% CI) for the association of outpatient vancomycin (g per year) with VRE colonization was 1.23 (1.05, 1.44, P = 0.008). The association remained significant following adjustment in separate logistic regression analyses for relevant demographic, clinical, antimicrobial (inpatient vancomycin, oral or intravenous cephalosprins, aminoglycosides, quinalones, or antianaerobics), and hospitalization exposures. The unadjusted relative risk of death in patients growing VRE was significantly higher than in those not colonized with VRE (P = 0.005).
VRE colonization is a relatively common and underrecognized problem among chronic dialysis patients. It is strongly and independently associated with the outpatient use of vancomycin, which should be avoided whenever possible.
Little is known about risk factors for renal failure among illicit drug users. A retrospective study of illicit drug users at substantial risk of developing acute renal failure is described.
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