Assessment of Anemia and Quality of Life in Patients With Renal Transplantation.

PURPOSE: Anemia is associated with poor quality of life in dialysis patients. However, data on this association are scarce on transplant patients. We aimed to find the frequency of anemia, and the effect of anemia on the quality-of-life parameters in patients who have undergone kidney transplantation. METHODS: Anemia was defined by a hemoglobin (Hgb) level of <12 g/dL and severe anemia by a Hgb level of <10 g/dL. All patients were evaluated with the Kidney Disease Quality of Life (KDQOL-SF) scale forms. RESULTS: Two hundred patients (128 male and 72 female; mean age, 39.2 ± 11.5 years) were examined. Anemia was found in 19% and severe anemia was found in 4.5% of all patients. Low glomerular filtration rate, young age, and female gender were demographic parameters associated with anemia. Parathormone levels were higher in the anemic group. The use of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, and mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors was significantly higher in the anemic group. In addition, patients with anemia had a lower KDQOL-SF mental health component score than that of the patients without anemia. CONCLUSIONS: Anemia was related to the degree of renal function in posttransplant patients. Anemia had an important influence on mental health in renal transplant patients.

Survival of renal transplant patients: data from a tertiary care center in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: Data on transplantation survival is widely available for developed countries where cadaveric transplantation is the dominant transplantation type. We aimed to assess patient and graft survival and to determine the possible factors affecting graft survival in a developing country where kidney transplantations were mainly performed from living donors. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data from 427 adult kidney transplantations performed at our center from January 1990 to November 2010. We collected data from patient files, including characteristics of the recipients and donors, transplantation-related factors, post-transplantation features, causes of graft loss, and patient death. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze survival, and Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the effects of multiple factors on graft survival. RESULTS: Most of the recipients (82.6%) received their organs from living donors. One-year and 5-year graft survival rates were 87.5% and 78.3%, respectively, where the 5-year graft survival rates were 87.1% for living donors and 74.8% for cadaveric donors. The 1-year and 5-year patient survival rates were 90.9% and 88.9%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that predictors for better graft survival were serum creatinine levels <1.5 mg/dL at 1 month after transplantation, proteinuria <500 mg/d at 1 year after transplantation, use of tacrolimus and mycophenolic acid derivative-based immunosuppression at baseline, living-donor transplantation, and transplantations performed in the years 2000-2010. CONCLUSIONS: We report data on kidney transplantation in an emerging country where living-donor transplantation constitutes a large proportion of kidney transplant activities. Modern immunosuppressive medications help to achieve a better survival. Our 5-year results are similar to those of developed countries.

Endothelial damage in white coat hypertension: role of lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein-1.

The aims of this study included an examination of soluble lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor-1 (sLOX-1) levels in hypertensive (HT) patients. Another aim examined sLOX-1 associations with oxidized LDL (oxLDL), nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and nitric oxide (NOx). A final aim was to compare these parameters between HT patients, white-coat hypertensive (WCH) patients and healthy controls. The three groups, HT, WCH and controls, were comprised of 35 patients each. sLOX-1 and oxLDL levels were significantly increased in WCH and HT patients compared with controls. The eNOS activation was significantly lower in HT than in the control group. sLOX-1 and oxLDL levels were significantly negatively correlated with eNOS levels in the WCH and HT groups. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) measurements were significantly higher in the WCH and HT groups compared with controls. There was a significant positive correlation between CIMT and sLOX-1 and oxLDL; however, there was a negative correlation with eNOS in WCH. Regression analysis revealed that sLOX-1 was the variable that had a significant effect on blood pressure (P<0.001, odds ratio (95% confidence interval=23.273 (5.843-92.688)). A possible endothelial impairment may act as a cardiovascular risk factor in WCH. Necessary measures should be considered in terms of atherosclerosis risk with HT, especially in early identification of endothelial damage by looking at sLOX-1 levels. We believe sLOX-1 levels are strong biomarkers for determining early endothelial damage in HT, and especially in WCH patients.

Progression of metabolic syndrome in renal transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome, which is closely related to insulin resistance, is highly prevalent in renal transplant recipients. PURPOSE: We aimed to investigate prevalence, risk factors, and progression of metabolic syndrome in renal transplant recipients. METHODS: One hundred fifty-eight renal transplant recipients who had been on transplantation for more than 1 year and 79 age-sex matched healthy controls were included in the cross-sectional phase of the study. We measured baseline characteristics, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, and lipid profiles and we defined metabolic syndrome using the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. One hundred twenty-four renal transplant recipients were eligible for the second evaluation after 22.9 ± 3.8 months. Metabolic syndrome prevalence and homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance levels were evaluated during the follow-up period. RESULTS: Overall, metabolic syndrome was present in 34.2% of the patients and 12.7% of the controls at the cross-sectional phase of the study (P = .000). Only the hypertension component of metabolic syndrome was significantly increased in patients compared to controls (P = .000). Pretransplantation weight and body mass index were significantly higher in patients who had metabolic syndrome (P = .000). During the follow-up period, prevalence of metabolic syndrome did not change (P = .510); however, body mass index and blood pressure increased and the high density lipoprotein cholesterol component of metabolic syndrome decreased (P = .001). We did not find any significant difference in glomerular filtration rate change among patients with and without metabolic syndrome (-2.2 ± 11.36 vs -6.14 ± 13.19; P = .091). Glucose metabolism parameters including hemoglobin A1c, insulin, and homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance were disturbed in patients with metabolic syndrome (P = .000, P = .001, P = .002, respectively). CONCLUSION: Metabolic syndrome is highly prevalent in renal transplant recipients and closely associated with insulin resistance. The prominent criterion of metabolic syndrome in patients seems to be hypertension, especially high systolic blood pressure. The identification of metabolic syndrome as a risk factor may yield new treatment modalities to prevent it.

Obligatory referral among other factors associated with peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis patients.

AIM: Peritonitis is one of the major comorbidities of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. The aim of this study was to concentrate on potential risk factors, including more recently studied ones among the classical ones for peritonitis, in PD patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analysed 109 patients (F/M = 42/67) followed up at least for 3 months in a single centre, a tertiary referral hospital for 360.1 patient years. In the study which is designed as a retrospective cohort study, demographic characteristics, conditions for choosing PD, type of PD treatment, some chemical tests and peritonitis episodes were recorded from the files of the patients. RESULTS: The rate of peritonitis was found to be 0.22 episode/patient year and 22 (20.18%) of the patients had more than one episode. Twenty seven (24.8%) of the patients were allocated to PD due to obligatory reasons. According to multiple regression analysis, the associated factors were found to be PD allocation type (obligatory versus voluntary) (p = 0.04; RR = 2.6), serum albumin level (p = 0.05; RR = 1.2), and anti-hepatitis C Virus Antibody positivity (p = 0.03; RR = 1.6). Frequency of female patients were significantly higher in the group who had multiple episodes (p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Obligatory referral which can be an indication of loss of motivation for peritoneal dialysis procedures, is thought to be a strong risk factor for peritonitis in PD patients and should be further studied. Patients with multiple episodes had a higher frequency of obligatory referral as expected and additionally, they were higher in number of females when compared to the ones with single episode.

Electrolyte free water clearance could be an early sign of renal dysfunction in renal transplant patients.

Data on free water excretion capacity of renal transplant recipients are scant. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of electrolyte free water clearance (E-CH(2)O) by the allograft in renal transplant patients and the effects of various immunosuppressive drugs. Renal transplant recipients with good graft function (creatinine < 1.5 mg/dL) as well as controls were divided into five groups according to their immunosuppressive regimen: group I, azathioprine (n = 15); group II, cyclosporine (n = 28); group III, tacrolimus (n = 28); group IV healthy controls (n = 20); and group V renal transplant donors (n = 16). Following a 12-hour fast, we administered oral water loading (20 mL/kg) with urine collection for 3 hours. We calculated creatinine clearance for 3 hours and E-CH(2)O. No matter which immunosuppressive drug, the E-CH(2)O of recipients (groups I, II, and III) was lower than that of donors or healthy controls. The creatinine clearance of the cyclosporine arm was significantly lower than all of the other groups. Decreased E-CH(2)O in renal transplant patients might be due to diminished water input to the loop of Henle related to subclinical allograft insufficiency as a result of posttransplantation pathology and/or immunosuppressive drug therapy or the transport of water into the extrarenal interstitium as a result of vascular endothelial dysfunction due to the pretransplant uremic milleu.

Treatment of renal transplant recipients with low bone mineral density: a randomized prospective trial of alendronate, alfacalcidol, and alendronate combined with alfacalcidol.

We sought to compare the treatment modalities of alendronate, alfacalcidol, and alendronate combined with alfacalcidol in renal transplant recipients with low bone mineral density. Sixty-four kidney graft recipients (22 women, 42 men) were recruited to this study. Of these 64 patients, 9 served as the control group with T scores more than -1. The remaining 55 patients randomly assigned to treatment had T scores less than -1 and were assigned to 3 groups: group 1 received alfacalcidol (0.5 microg/d); group 2, alendronate (10 mg/d); and group 3, alendronate (10 mg/d) + alfacalcidol (0.5 microg/d per os). Twenty-five patients were allocated to alfacalcidol, 13 patients to alendronate, and 17 patients to alendronate + alfacalcidol treatment. Bone mineral densities of the lumbar spine and femoral neck were measured before and 12 months after treatment. The groups were compared for risk factors of osteoporosis, biochemistry, and bone mineral density. Kruskal-Wallis, one-way ANOVA, and Student t tests were used. With the alendronate + alfacalcidol group, bone mineral density at the lumbar spine significantly increased by 7.9% (P = .006) with a significant improvement in T score (P = .003). Bone mineral density at the femoral neck significantly increased by 8% in the alendronate + alfacalcidol group (P = .01) with a significant improvement in T score (P = .02). The use of a combination of alendronate and alfacalcidol seemed to be safe and more effective than the separate use of the 2 agents to improve bone mass in renal transplant recipients.

Adrenal carcinoma causing secondary amyloidosis: report of the first case in the literature.

In a 53-year-old male patient with metastatic adrenal carcinoma, treatment with mitotane was instituted but he was lost to follow-up. Two years later, he presented with oedema and nephrotic-range proteinuria. The rectal and renal biopsies revealed an accumulation of secondary amyloid material. The patient died of respiratory failure caused by the progressive pulmonary metastases. This is the first report of a patient with adrenal carcinoma who developed secondary amyloidosis.

Osteoporosis after renal transplantation.

This study was performed to determine risk factors associated with osteoporosis that develops after renal transplantation. Sixty-five kidney graft recipients were included in this study. They were divided into four groups according to the time since transplantation: Group 1 (< 1 year; n = 26), group 2 (1-3 years; n = 16), group 3 (3-5 years; n = 12) and group 4 (> 5 years; n = 11). These groups were matched according to probable risk factors for osteoporosis, findings of serum biochemistry, biochemical markers of bone turnover and measurements of bone mineral density. One way ANOVA test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used for statistical analysis. Osteoporosis was found in 22 recipients (33.8%). There were significant differences in recipient age, cumulative steroid dose, and episodes of acute rejection between the four groups. Increasing age, cumulative steroid dose and episodes of acute rejection were found to be risk factors for osteoporosis in our study.

Temporary catheter infections in hemodialysis patients: results from a single center in Turkey.

In this study, we aimed to determine the frequencies of catheter exit-site infection (CESI), catheter-related bloodstream infection (CR-BSI) and catheter colonization (CC); causative microorganisms; and resistance patterns in patients with temporary hemodialysis catheters. From March 1999 to March 2000, 67 hemodialysis patients (38 males, 29 females; median age: 52, range: 17-84) were evaluated. The CDC criteria were used to diagnose CESI, CR-BSI and CC. The tips of catheters were cultured by Maki's method. At the same time, two different blood cultures, one from peripheral vein and the other through the catheter lumen were drawn. Swab cultures from the catheter exit sites were also performed. The isolation and identification of bacteria were performed by conventional methods and the susceptibility testing by the Kirby-Bauer method. CESI, CR-BSI and CC were found in, respectively, 20 (29.8%), 16 (23.8%) and 11 (16.4%) patients. The etiologic agents in CR-BSI were as follows: Staphylococcus aureus (5), coagulase-negative staphylococci (2), Enterococcus sp. (1), Escherichia coli (1), Acinetobacter sp. (1) and Proteus sp. (1). Methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci and methicillin-resistant S. aureus were found in proportions of 45.5% and 63.6% in CESI and CR-BSI+CC. The only risk factor for the development of CR-BSI and CC was intravenous drug use. In our center, the majority of CESI, CR-BSI and CC were due to staphylococci and there was a high rate of methicillin resistance.

Acute renal failure due to carnitine palmitoyltransferase II deficiency.

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase II (CPT-II) deficiency is the most common long-chain fatty acid oxidation defect, resulting in rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure (ARF). There are three forms of CPT-II deficiency: the neonatal, infantile and adult form. We report an adult form of CPT-II deficiency in a patient who presented with attacks of exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis and ARF.

Fever of unknown origin in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: The etiology of fever of unknown origin (FUO) includes primarily infectious, collagen-vascular and neoplastic diseases. The distribution of the disorders causing FUO may differ according to the geographic area and the socioeconomical status of the country. Moreover, the developments in radiographic and microbiologic methods have changed the spectrum of diseases causing FUO. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed 117 cases that fulfilled the criteria of FUO followed in our department during the period 1984 to 2001. RESULTS: The etiology of FUO was infectious diseases in 34% of the patients, collagen-vascular diseases in 23%, neoplasms in 19% and miscellaneous diseases in 10%. In 14% of the cases the etiology could not be found. The three leading diseases were tuberculosis (24%), lymphomas (19%) and adult-onset Still's disease (11%). Tuberculosis was found to be a more common cause of FUO than reported in studies in developed countries. Invasive procedures helped to establish the diagnosis in 50 out of 92 patients (43%). As a final diagnostic procedure, laparotomy aided the establishment of a diagnosis in 15 out of 20 patients (75%). CONCLUSION: Although the relative rate of infectious disease as etiologic category is less commonly encountered, infectious disease, especially tuberculosis, remains a common cause of FUO. Although several diseases may lead to FUO, lymphomas, adult-onset Still's disease and particularly tuberculosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a patient admitted with FUO.

Amyloid goitre in familial Mediterranean fever: report on three patients and review of the literature.

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a hereditary disease, the most threatening complication of which is systemic amyloidosis. The thyroid gland may be asymptomatically involved in most patients with systemic amyloidosis secondary to FMF. However, clinically detectable thyroid goitre is quite rare, and until now only nine cases of thyroid goitre secondary to amyloid deposition in FMF have been reported. Of 1,100 FMF patients regularly followed up at our centre, thyroid goitre due to the accumulation of amyloid substance could be detected in only three (0.27%). In this report, we summarise the clinical and laboratory features of these patients. All three patients were euthyroid. Total thyroidectomy was performed for compressive symptoms in one patient and for aesthetic purposes in the other two. In countries with a high prevalence of FMF, such as Turkey, secondary amyloidosis of the thyroid gland should be borne in mind in long-standing FMF patients.

Diffuse diabetic glomerulosclerosis in a patient with impaired glucose tolerance: report on a patient who later develops diabetes mellitus.

Diabetic glomerulosclerosis might be seen in diabetics but its presence in patients with impaired glucose tolerance is quite rare. A 31-year-old woman who was admitted to our department was diagnosed with hypertension, nephrotic syndrome and impaired glucose tolerance. Her renal biopsy was compatible with diabetic glomerulosclerosis. She developed overt diabetes mellitus (DM) after one year of impaired glucose tolerance. Hypertension might have accelerated the progression of diabetic nephropathy.

Colchicine neuromyopathy: a report of six cases.

Colchicine has been in use for therapeutic purposes for many years. It can, however, cause subacute onset muscle and peripheral nerve toxicity in patients with chronic renal failure. In this report we describe 6 patients who developed neuromyopathy after the administration of colchicine. All patients presented with proximal muscle weakness, elevated serum creatine kinase (CK) levels, and neuropathy and/or myopathy on electromyography (EMG). The diagnosis of colchicine toxicity was confirmed in all cases by the normalization of CK levels and EMG after discontinuation of the drug. Toxicity developed in 4 renal failure patients on therapeutic doses of the drug, while one patient took a massive dose for suicidal reasons, and the other was on high-dose therapy. Patients using colchicine--especially those with renal failure--should be warned about the side effects of the drug and physicians should be careful in the administration of the drug.

Secondary amyloidosis in Castleman's disease: review of the literature and report of a case.

It is quite rare to diagnose secondary amyloidosis during the course of Castleman's disease (CD). A 51-year-old female who complained of fatigue, weight loss, and fever was diagnosed with CD -- plasma cell type -- in our hospital in 1993. One year after diagnosis, she developed nephrotic syndrome, the etiology of which was found to be secondary amyloidosis based on renal biopsy. As the patient rejected therapy, she was discharged after only symptomatic treatment. At her last follow-up in March 2001, she had no complaints; physical examination, blood chemistries, and urinalysis were normal. Abdominopelvic tomography revealed no lymphadenopathy in the abdomen, which had been previously present. We could identify 17 other cases of CD with secondary amyloidosis in the literature. Ours is the 18th such case and the 2nd case of multicentric CD leading to amyloidosis. This case also shows that CD might sometimes run a relatively benign course being cured with no therapy, whereas it might have a rapidly fatal downhill course -- even with therapy -- in others. Still, effective treatment strategies need to be developed.

Glomerulonephritis in Behçet's disease: report of seven cases and review of the literature.

Despite being recognised much more frequently than in the past, renal involvement has not previously been regarded as a feature of Behcet's disease (BD). In this study we aimed to assess the frequency of renal involvement in BD by performing urinalyses of 674 consecutive BD patients; we also retrospectively evaluated the charts of 4212 BD patients for the incidence of glomerulonephritis (GN). Urinary abnormalities (proteinuria and/or haematuria) were present in 10.8%; and during a period of 23 years GN was detected by renal biopsy in seven (0.16%) BD patients. Two patients with GN were lost to follow-up; end-stage renal failure developed in only one patient, and she underwent renal transplantation. We were unable to determine any pathognomonic feature that was predictive of renal involvement. Although males tend to have a more serious clinical course of BD the incidences of urinary abnormalities and GN were similar in both sexes in our series. According to our results, we can conclude that urinary abnormalities are more frequent in BD; however, serious renal lesions develop in only very few of these patients.

Prevalence of serum antibodies to hepatitis B and C viruses in patients with primary glomerulonephritis.

We retrospectively analysed the medical records of patients who underwent renal biopsy in our nephrology department over the past 8 years. Our aim was to discover the frequency of hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) in patients with primary glomerulonephritis (GN) in Turkey, a moderately endemic country for both infections. The study included 144 male and 104 female patients aged between 12-70 years. The frequency of HBsAg and anti-HCV were found to be similar to healthy controls, respectively 6.5% and 1.6% (p>0.05). As is true for low endemic countries, HBV and HCV infections might be rarely associated with GN in Turkey.