Uremic pruritus is associated with higher kt/V and serum calcium concentration.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence and characteristics of uremic pruritus have not recently been investigated in a US dialysis cohort. This study examined uremic pruritus and associated risk factors in hemodialysis patients treated in the year 2005. METHODS: The prevalence and characteristics of pruritus (short version McGill pain questionnaire), severity (10 cm visual analogue scale), and effect on quality of life (Skindex-16) were determined in thrice weekly hemodialysis patients. Daugirdas single-pool Kt/V, clinical and laboratory data were recorded. RESULTS: 105 of 307 screened hemodialysis patients met inclusion criteria and were evaluated, 49% (151) were excluded due to advanced age, 3% (9) other skin diseases, and 14% (42) refused. Participants were 55% male (58/105) and 65% African-American (68) with a mean +/- SD age of 48 +/- 11 years. The overall prevalence of pruritus was 57% (60/105, 95% CI 47 - 67%) and a positive correlation was observed between the presence of uremic itch and serum calcium concentration (p = 0.04). Intact PTH and serum phosphorus concentration were not associated with either the presence or intensity of itch. Intensity of pruritus was positively correlated with increasing months on dialysis (64 +/- 63 vs. 51 +/- 46 months for itch and non-itch, respectively; p = 0.02), higher Kt/V (1.82 +/- 0.7 vs. 1.70 +/- 0.56 for itch and non-itch, respectively; p = 0.01) and skin dryness (p = 0.01). Patients receiving statins were significantly less likely to report pruritus (p = 0.02) and uremic itch adversely impacted several aspects of quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Pruritus remains a common and significant symptom in adequately hemodialyzed patients. Higher serum calcium concentrations, longer durations of ESRD and higher Kt/V appear to be important factors associated with uremic pruritus.

Familial clustering of end-stage renal disease in blacks with lupus nephritis.

The factors that determine a patient's susceptibility to specific target organ involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) remain unknown. Lupus nephritis can be a particularly devastating complication, with an increased mortality and the risk of progressive renal damage resulting in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This analysis was performed to determine whether renal disease aggregated in select families or was a sporadic complication in patients with SLE. We compared the family history of ESRD in 50 patients with SLE complicated by lupus nephritis with 37 controls who had SLE but lacked nephritis after a mean follow-up duration of more than 11 years. The frequency of relatives with ESRD in the lupus nephritis cases was compared with that in controls using Fisher's exact test (significance at P < or = 0.05). Fifty percent (25) of the 50 lupus nephritis patients were black and 50% (25) white, in contrast to 35% (13) and 65% (24) of the 37 lupus non-nephropathy controls, respectively. A first-, second-, or third-degree relative with ESRD was present in 16% (eight) of the 50 lupus nephritis cases and in 0% of the 37 SLE non-nephropathy controls (P = 0.019, Fisher's exact test, two-tail). Twenty-eight percent (seven) of the 25 black patients with lupus nephritis had relatives with ESRD compared with 0% of the 13 black lupus non-nephritis controls (P = 0.07). Only one of the eight relatives with ESRD had SLE or a collagen vascular disease. Lupus nephritis patients and the non-nephritis controls had similar ages (mean +/- SD: 38.5 +/- 10.0 years v 46.6 +/- 11.8 years; P = 0.28), family sizes (6.27 +/- 2.61 first-degree relatives v 6.35 +/- 3.25 first-degree relatives; P = 0.16), and duration of SLE (9.26 +/- 5.94 years v 11.35 +/- 6.43 years; P = 0.60). Familial clustering of ESRD was observed in black patients with SLE who had nephritis. This was unlikely to be related to differences in patient age, family size, or duration of SLE. This data, coupled with the known familial aggregation of ESRD in blacks with hypertensive and diabetic ESRD, supports the contention that genetic factors contribute to the familial clustering. The presence of relatives with etiologies of ESRD other than SLE suggests that there is an inherited susceptibility to progressive renal failure, independent of the etiology of ESRD.

Familial predisposition to nephropathy in African-Americans with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Nephropathy clusters in Pima Indian families with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), suggesting that susceptibility to nephropathy is distinct from NIDDM per se. The authors compared the family history of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) from 52 African-American patients with NIDDM-induced ESRD (cases) with 45 age-, sex-, and and race-matched non-insulin-dependent diabetics without nephropathy (controls) to assess whether the risk of renal disease was independent from NIDDM in African-Americans as well. Thirty-seven percent (19 of 52) of NIDDM-induced ESRD patients had either a first-, second-, or third-degree relative with ESRD, in contrast to only 7% (3 of 45) of diabetic controls. African-American individuals with NIDDM were at eightfold increased risk for developing subsequent ESRD in the presence of a close relative with ESRD (odds ratio = 8.06; 95% confidence interval, 2.2 to 29.6; P < or = 0.0005). No significant differences were observed in yearly income, years of formal education, total serum cholesterol level, prevalence of smoking, or hypertension between the groups. Diabetic control (assessed by glycosylated hemoglobin and random glucose levels) was suboptimal in nonrenal disease controls, suggesting that hyperglycemia alone fails to cause nephropathy in patients with NIDDM. Family size was unlikely to have influenced the results because diabetic cases had significantly fewer first-degree relatives than did diabetic controls. Familial clustering of ESRD is present in certain African-American families with NIDDM. Differences in family size and degree of diabetic control are unlikely to account for the differences observed between families.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Familial risk, age at onset, and cause of end-stage renal disease in white Americans.

A strong familial clustering of ESRD has been reported among African Americans, suggesting that factors predisposing to renal failure, whether genetic, environmental, or both, may disproportionately affect certain families. A case-control study was undertaken to determine if a familial risk of ESRD was present among white Americans, if this risk differed among causes of ESRD, and if variability in age at onset was attributed to familial factors. Data were obtained from 103 white American patients (cases) with ESRD receiving dialysis treatments at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine's affiliated dialysis facility in Winston-Salem, NC. One hundred three age-, sex- and race-matched non-ESRD controls were consecutively selected from the Wake Forest University Physicians internal medicine clinic. Odds ratios (OR) and associated 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to signify the prevalence of a relative with ESRD among cases versus controls. The presence of either a first- or second-degree relative increased a white American's risk for developing ESRD nearly threefold (OR = 2.7, 95% CI 1.1 to 7.2; P = 0.038), whereas the presence of either a first-, second- or third-degree relative with ESRD increased the risk nearly fourfold (OR = 3.5, 95% CI 1.5 to 8.4; P = 0.004). Cases with chronic glomerulonephritis and Type II diabetic nephropathy as the cause of ESRD had relatives with ESRD more often than cases with Type I diabetic nephropathy, interstitial nephritis, or renal artery stenosis. The average correlation (f) of ages at onset of ESRD among individuals in a single family (cases and their relatives) was 55%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The familial risk of end-stage renal disease in African Americans.

African Americans have higher overall incidence rates of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) compared with American whites. Hypertensive nephrosclerosis (HN), nephropathy secondary to diabetes mellitus types I and II, and chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) all occur more frequently in African Americans. To explore the possibility that hereditary factors may play a role in the increased risk of ESRD in African Americans, the family history of 131 African American hemodialysis patients (cases) was compared with 115 age-, sex-, and race-matched non-ESRD controls. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated to define the prevalence of a relative with ESRD among cases versus controls. Chi-square values were estimated from a log-linear model, while controlling for gender, to test for significance of ORs. Forty percent (12/30) of HN cases, 35% (18/51) of type II diabetes mellitus-induced renal failure cases, and 13% (5/38) of CGN cases had a first-, second-, or third-degree relative with ESRD. The presence of a first-degree relative with ESRD increased an African American's risk for developing ESRD ninefold (OR, 9.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.6 to 31.8; P < 0.001). The presence of a first- or second-degree relative increased the risk fivefold (OR, 5.23; 95% CI, 2.2 to 12.3; P < 0.0002). First-, second-, or third-degree relatives with ESRD were more prevalent among cases with ESRD due to hypertension and type II diabetes mellitus compared with CGN (P < or = 0.05). Gender differences among the ORs were nonsignificant (P > 0.2) and socioeconomic class (level of education and income) did not differ markedly between cases and controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The Thomas shunt revisited.

During a 10-year period, 57 external Thomas femoral shunts (TS) were placed in 43 patients for chronic hemodialysis access. Median shunt survival was 28 months (range, 0.5 to 132). Sixty-three percent (36/57) of shunts are presently functional or functioned until the time of patient death from unrelated cause or removal after renal transplantation. The remaining 37% (21/57) failed after a mean duration of 18 months (range, 2 to 40). Causes of failure were thrombosis (57%), refractory infection (24%), and failure during surgical revision (19%). There were no shunt-related deaths. Race, sex, the presence of diabetes mellitus or hypertension, and prior surgical revision of access did not adversely affect shunt survival. These results support the TS as a viable means of chronic vascular access for hemodialysis patients who cannot receive further upper arm accesses.