The Management of Recurrent Urinary Tract Infection: Non-Antibiotic Bundle Treatment.

Recurrent urinary tract infections (rUTIs) are a common condition with high morbidity and negatively impact the quality of life. They account for approximately 25% of all antibiotic prescriptions and are a public health concern in an era of increasing multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). Several non-antibiotic treatment strategies have been tried to curb antimicrobial use, and many are effective to some degree, but no experience testing multimodal interventions. We created a "care bundle" consisting of behavioral interventions, vaginal and oral probiotics, D-mannose, and cranberry to be followed for six months. We enrolled women with rUTIs over three years. Changes in urinary tract infections, antibiotic use, chronic symptoms, and quality of life were compared in the six months before and after participation in the study. Forty-seven women were enrolled in the study, six of whom were excluded from the final analysis. We observed a 76% reduction in urinary tract infections (p < 0.001) and a reduction in total antibiotic exposure of more than 90% (p < 0.001); all chronic symptoms showed a trend toward reduction. Adherence to the bundle was high (87.2%). Overall, 80.5% of women experienced an improvement in their quality of life. In our experience, a bundle protocol is effective in reducing recurrences and antimicrobial use in a cohort of women with rUTIs and results in a subjective improvement in chronic symptoms and quality of life. Further research with larger sample size is needed to confirm these findings.

Distinct impact of vitamin D insufficiency on calcitriol levels in chronic renal failure and renal transplant patients: a role for FGF23.

INTRODUCTION: Vitamin D insufficiency contributes to calcitriol (1,25D) reduction in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Since CKD patients on conservative therapy (CRF) mostly develop, whereas transplant (TX) patients possibly recover from, secondary hyperparathyroidism (SH), we hypothesized a different efficiency of vitamin D hydroxylation in these 2 clinical conditions. METHODS: We compared the impact of reduced 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25D) on circulating 1,25D in 111 CRF (mean age 63 ± 15 years; estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] 36.4 ± 22.0 ml/min) and in 136 TX patients (mean age 50 ± 11 years; eGFR 47 ± 19.0 ml/min). RESULTS: Vitamin D insufficient patients (69.1% in TX vs. 82% in CRF; p<0.005), compared with those without insufficiency, had lower values of 1,25D in CRF (24.5 ± 17.4 vs 35.8 ± 17.8 pg/mL; p<0.01) but not in TX (42.7 ± 23.8 vs. 50.1 ± 25.4 pg/mL; p=n.s.). Serum 25D and 1,25D were correlated in both CRF (r=0.387, p<0.0001) and TX (r=0.240, p0<.005) groups, but 1,25D values were higher in the TX group in any of the 4 ranges for 25D considered. Serum calcitriol correlated with eGFR (CRF: r=0.641, p<0.0001; TX: r=0.426, p<0.0001), but again with higher values in the TX group, in any of the CKD stages considered, except stage 2. In both conditions, the most predictive parameter of 1,25D levels was eGFR, together with phosphate and 25D in the CRF group (r2=0.545; p<0.0001), and with Ca and 25D in the TX group (r2=0.345; p<0.0001). In 2 subgroups, comparable for eGFR and 25D, levels of FGF23 were lower in the TX group, in agreement with higher values of 1,25D. CONCLUSIONS: A 25D deficit more significantly affects calcitriol concentrations in CRF as compared with TX. Efficiency of vitamin D hydroxylation should be considered when planning vitamin D replacement strategies.

Vitamin D receptor activators.

The fields for clinical employment of vitamin D analogs are growing and under active evaluation in different medical specialties, ranging from dermatology to immunology and oncology. In this review we provide a brief description of the drugs that have been developed more specifically for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (SH) associated with uremia.

Progression of coronary artery calcification in renal transplantation and the role of secondary hyperparathyroidism and inflammation.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Transplantation should favorably affect coronary calcification (CAC) progression in dialysis; however, changes in CAC score in the individual patient are not reliably evaluated. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS & MEASUREMENTS: The authors used special tables of reproducibility limits for each score level to study, by multislice computed tomography and biochemistries, the 2-year changes in CAC in 41 transplant patients (age 48 +/- 13 yr, 25 men, dialysis vintage 4.8 +/- 4.3 yr, underwent transplant 6.2 +/- 5.5 yr prior). Thirty balanced dialysis patients served as controls. RESULTS: In the study group, Agatston score was stable, and C-reactive protein decreased, whereas fetuin and osteoprotegerin increased. In the control group, Agatston score increased, parathyroid hormone and phosphate decreased, and inflammation markers were persistently twice as high as in the study group. With regard to individual changes, 12.2% transplant patients worsened, compared with 56.6% of patients in dialysis (P < 0.0001). Patients without calcification at entry showed slower progression in transplantation (8.3%) than in dialysis (44.4%; P < 0.034), and the difference was similar to that observed in cases with CAC (17.6% versus 61.9%; P < 0.007). Discriminant analysis indicated parathyroid hormone, the modality of therapy (dialysis or transplantation), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate as the variables most associated with worsening. CONCLUSIONS: Renal transplantation lowers but does not halt CAC progression. Inflammation and hyperparathyroidism are associated with progression in the populations studied.