Segmental bioimpedance in pregnant end stage renal failure patient for dry weight titration and volume management (case report).

BACKGROUND: Volume assessment, dry weight titration, and blood pressure control in pregnant kidney failure patients are often challenging, with physiological fluid accumulation in the trunk and lower limbs and an increased risk of preeclampsia. We used segmental bioimpedance in the volume management of our kidney failure patient on haemodialysis. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a female patient on maintenance haemodiafiltration with no residual kidney function for whom we used segmental bioimpedance to guide dry weight adjustment. At different gestational periods, we targeted a different extracellular to total body water ratio according to body segments. This allowed us to support her high-risk pregnancy, identify her as probably developing preeclampsia and trigger a plan for closer monitoring and delivery during the third trimester when she had rapid weight gain. CONCLUSION: Segmental bioimpedance is a practical, simple, and non-invasive test that can be performed at the dialysis unit and is useful as an adjunct decision-making tool in the management of pregnant dialysis patients.

Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial of the Effect of Treatment with Vitamin K2 on Vascular Calcification in Hemodialysis Patients (Trevasc-HDK).

Introduction: Vitamin K deficiency among patients on hemodialysis (HD) affects the function of matrix GLA protein (MGP), a potent vitamin K-dependent inhibitor of vascular calcification (VC). Methods: We conducted a single-center randomized controlled trial (RCT) on maintenance HD patients to examine if vitamin K2 supplementation can reduce progression of coronary artery calcification (CAC) over an 18-month study period. Patients were randomized to vitamin K2 group receiving menaquinone-7360 µg 3 times/wk or control group. The primary outcome was CAC scores at the end of the study period. The secondary outcomes were aortic valve calcification (AVC), carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), aortic augmentation index (AIx), dephosphorylated undercarboxylated MGP (dp-ucMGP) levels, major adverse cardiac events (MACE), and vascular access events. Results: Of the 178 patients randomized, follow-up was completed for 138 patients. The CAC scores between the 2 groups were not statistically different at the end of 18 months (relative mean difference [RMD] 0.85, 95% CI 0.55-1.31). The secondary outcomes did not differ significantly in AVC (RMD 0.82, 95% CI 0.34-1.98), cfPWV (absolute mean difference [AMD] 0.55, 95% CI -0.50 to 1.60), and AIx (AMD 0.13, 95% CI -3.55 to 3.80). Supplementation with vitamin K2 did reduce dp-ucMGP levels (AMD -86, 95% CI -854 to -117). The composite outcome of MACE and mortality was not statistically different between the 2 groups (Hazard ratio = 0.98, 95% CI 0.50-1.94). Conclusion: Our study did not demonstrate a beneficial effect of vitamin K2 in reducing progression of VC in this population at the studied dose and duration.

Risk assessment of failure during transitioning from in-centre to home haemodialysis.

BACKGROUND: Introducing a de-novo home haemodialysis (HHD) program often raises safety concerns as errors could potentially lead to serious adverse events. Despite the complexity of performing haemodialysis at home without the supervision of healthcare staff, HHD has a good safety record. We aim to pre-emptively identify and reduce the risks to our new HHD program by risk assessment and using failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) to identify potential defects in the design and planning of HHD. METHODS: We performed a general risk assessment of failure during transitioning from in-centre to HHD with a failure mode and effects analysis focused on the highest areas of failure. We collaborated with key team members from a well-established HHD program and one HHD patient. Risk assessment was conducted separately and then through video conference meetings for joint deliberation. We listed all key processes, sub-processes, step and then identified failure mode by scoring based on risk priority numbers. Solutions were then designed to eliminate and mitigate risk. RESULTS: Transitioning to HHD was found to have the highest risk of failure with 3 main processes and 34 steps. We identified a total of 59 areas with potential failures. The median and mean risk priority number (RPN) scores from failure mode effect analysis were 5 and 38, with the highest RPN related to vascular access at 256. As many failure modes with high RPN scores were related to vascular access, we focussed on FMEA by identifying the risk mitigation strategies and possible solutions in all 9 areas in access-related medical emergencies in a bundled- approach. We discussed, the risk reduction areas of setting up HHD and how to address incidents that occurred and those not preventable. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a safety framework for a de-novo HHD program by performing FMEA in high-risk areas. The involvement of two teams with different clinical experience for HHD allowed us to successfully pre-emptively identify risks and develop solutions.

The Implementation and Role of Antigen Rapid Test for COVID-19 in Hemodialysis Units.

As we move into the third year with COVID-19, many countries have attempted to manage the disease as an endemic. However, this is limited by the disease's morbidity and mortality, the emergence of new strains, and the effectiveness of the vaccine. This brief report describes, evaluates, and discusses the implementation of regular antigen rapid tests (ARTs) for COVID-19 in hemodialysis units. We introduced ARTs during the surge in our hemodialysis units. As compliance with the test was mandatory by regulatory requirements, we surveyed patients and caregivers to measure their acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of the ART's implementation. Acceptability measured confidence and level of comfort when performing ART tests, while appropriateness measured the perception of the necessity of ARTs, safety in the dialysis unit with the implementation of ARTs, and understanding using a Likert scale. Feasibility measured the perception of the timely start of dialysis treatment and the convenience of the test. Our survey found that ARTs were acceptable to 98% of patients and caregivers, with the majority reporting no discomfort. The majority of the patients agreed that ARTs were appropriate and feasible. We reported successful ART implementation in a healthcare setting with no false-positive or transmission within the unit during this period. Nevertheless, the long-term implementation outcome will require further evaluation.

Chlorhexidine - a commonly used but often neglected culprit of dialysis associated anaphylactic reactions (case report).

BACKGROUND: Hemodialysis-associated anaphylactic reactions are rare and frequently complex in nature due to the sheer number of possible culprit agents. Unfortunately, dialysis is often unavoidable or strictly essential for life-saving solute clearance or fluid removal in patients with end stage kidney failure and those with severe acute kidney injury. It is of utmost importance that the culprit agent is identified and avoided to allow continuation of dialysis treatment as needed. CASE PRESENTATION: We present 2 cases of hemodialysis-associated anaphylactic reactions. These patients developed anaphylactic reactions peri-dialysis and were initially suspected to have dialyser reactions. They were investigated in a controlled healthcare setting and possible culprit agents were systemically identified and eliminated. They both underwent allergy testing and were diagnosed with chlorhexidine allergy. Of note, Case 1 was an incident dialysis patient at the time of presentation and Case 2 was a prevalent dialysis patient. This suggests that the time from initial sensitization to reaction may not always be helpful in determining if a particular agent is the culprit of an anaphylactic reaction. In both cases, the patients were dialysed through a tunnelled dialysis catheter. We postulate that the presence of an exit site, which represents a compromise to the integrity of the skin's epidermal barrier, may have a significant role in the development of these reactions. As chlorhexidine is a widely used disinfectant in hemodialysis, it is imperative that we consider it as a possible culprit agent when these reactions arise. To our knowledge, there are no other reported cases of anaphylaxis secondary to chlorhexidine use in dialysis patients other than a previous report in 2017. Our report also highlights the possibility of these reactions occurring more frequently in patients with damaged epidermal barriers and in patients exposed to higher environmental concentrations of chlorhexidine. These are novel concepts that can be explored with further research. CONCLUSION: Chlorhexidine associated anaphylactic reactions can occur in the peri-dialysis setting and a high index of suspicion is paramount to diagnosis.

Treatment to reduce vascular calcification in hemodialysis patients using vitamin K (Trevasc-HDK): A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: End stage renal failure patients on hemodialysis have significant vascular calcification This is postulated to be related to sub-clinical vitamin K deficiency, which is prevalent in hemodialysis patients. Vitamin K deficiency result in the failure of the matrix GLA protein (MGP) to undergo carboxylation. MGP is a natural local inhibitor of vascular calcification and the lack of functional carboxylated MGP may contribute to increase vascular calcification. Vitamin K supplement should therefore correct this anomaly and decrease the rate or severity of vascular calcification in this population of patients on long-term maintenance hemodialysis. Our study seeks to evaluate the prevalence and the progression of vascular calcification in a cohort of maintenance hemodialysis patients. It will also evaluate the efficacy of vitamin K supplementation in reducing the progression of vascular calcification in this group of patients. METHODS: This will be a single-center randomized, prospective and open-label interventional clinical trial of end stage renal failure patients on hemodialysis. We aim to recruit 200 patients. Eligible patients will be randomized to either the standard care arm or active treatment arm. Active treatment arm patients will receive standard care plus supplementation with oral vitamin K2 isoform 360 mcg 3 times weekly for a total duration of 18 months. Primary outcome measured will be absolute difference in coronary artery calcification score at 18-month between control and intervention arms. Secondary outcomes will be to compare absolute difference in aortic valve calcification, percentage of patients with regression of coronary artery calcification of at least 10%, absolute difference in aortic and systemic arterial stiffness, mortality from any cause and major adverse cardiovascular over the same period. DISCUSSION: Evidence of successful regression or retardation of vascular calcification will support the conduct of larger and longer-term trials aimed at reducing cardiovascular disease mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events in this high-risk population using a safe and inexpensive strategy TRIAL REGISTRATION:: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02870829. Registered on 17 August 2016 - Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02870829National University Hospital's Institutional Review Board (2015/01000).

Deep eutectic solvents for biocatalytic transformations: focused lipase-catalyzed organic reactions.

Biocatalysis is a green and sustainable technology for which the ideal solvent should be nontoxic, biocompatible, biodegradable, and sustainable, in addition to supporting high enzyme activity and stability. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs), a novel class of green solvents, have recently emerged as excellent alternatives for use in various biocatalytic reactions and, in particular, in lipase-catalyzed reactions with enzymes. This review discusses the achievements that have been made so far in the use of DESs as reaction media for lipase-catalyzed reactions. In addition, the application of DESs in esterification, transesterification, and amidation reactions with isolated or immobilized biocatalysts, toward enabling the synthesis of biodiesels, sugar esters, phenolipids, and fatty acyl ethanolamides, is summarized, while advances in lipase-catalyzed chemoenzymatic epoxidation reactions, C-C bond-forming Aldol reactions, and hydrolysis reactions in DESs are also discussed. This review also summarize some remaining questions concerning the use of DESs, including the intriguing role of water as a cosolvent in biocatalytic reactions carried out in DESs, and the relationship between the nature of the DESs and their influence on the enzyme stability and activity at the molecular level.

Combined Use of Deep Eutectic Solvents, Macroporous Resins, and Preparative Liquid Chromatography for the Isolation and Purification of Flavonoids and 20-Hydroxyecdysone from Chenopodium quinoa Willd.

: Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were used in combination with macroporous resins to isolate and purify flavonoids and 20-hydroxyecdysone from Chenopodium quinoa Willd by preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The extraction performances of six DESs and the adsorption/desorption performances of five resins (AB-8, D101, HPD 400, HPD 600, and NKA-9) were investigated using the total flavonoid and 20-hydroxyecdysone extraction yields as the evaluation criteria, and the best-performing DES (choline chloride/urea, DES-6) and macroporous resin (D101) were further employed for phytochemical extraction and DES removal, respectively. The purified extract was subjected to preparative HPLC, and the five collected fractions were purified in a successive round of preparative HPLC to isolate three flavonoids and 20-hydroxyecdysone, which were identified by spectroscopic techniques. The use of a DES in this study significantly facilitated the preparative-scale isolation and purification of polar phytochemicals from complex plant systems.

Optimizing Ultrasound-Assisted Deep Eutectic Solvent Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Chinese Wild Rice.

In this study, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were used for the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of valuable bioactive compounds from Chinese wild rice (Zizania spp.). To this end, 7 different choline chloride (CC)-based DESs were tested as green extraction solvents. Choline chloride/1,4-butanediol (DES-2) exhibited the best extraction efficiency in terms of parameters such as the total flavonoid content (TFC), total phenolic content (TPC), and free radical scavenging capacity (DPPH● and ABTS●+). Subsequently, the UAE procedure using 76.6% DES-2 was also optimized: An extraction temperature of 51.2 °C and a solid-liquid ratio of 37.0 mg/mL were considered optimal by a Box-Behnken experiment. The optimized extraction procedure proved efficient for the extraction of 9 phenolic and 3 flavonoid compounds from Chinese wild rice as determined by quantification based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-QqQ-MS). This work, thus, demonstrates the possibility of customizing green solvents that offer greater extraction capacity than that of organic solvents.

Hyperlactatemia Predicts Citrate Intolerance With Regional Citrate Anticoagulation During Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy.

PURPOSE:: We aim to determine whether hyperlactatemia, which suggests multi-organ dysfunction and impaired organic substrate metabolism, may predict intolerance to regional citrate anticoagulation (RCA) during continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH). METHODS:: We performed a single-center, retrospective observational study in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury or end-stage renal disease and evaluated the association of peak serum lactate levels with citrate intolerance (CI) during the initial 72 hours of RCA-CVVH, defined by serum total-to-ionized calcium >2.5 plus systemic hypocalcemia. RESULTS:: Eighty-eight patients were studied (aged 59 ± 14 years, 66% males, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II: 31 ± 8). Citrate was dosed at median 2.1 mmol/L of blood flow, with citrate load of 30 mmol/h, and CVVH effluent of 43 mL/kg/h. Twenty patients developed CI. Comparing patients with CI versus none, peak lactate levels were 8 (5-11) versus 3 (2-6) mmol/L, calcium replacement was 13 (10-17) versus 11 (8-12) mmol/h, and standard base excess was -4 (-12 to 1) versus 2(-4 to 7) mmol/L, respectively ( P < .05). Citrate intolerance developed in 38%, 44%, and 55%, in patients with peak lactate >4, >6, >7 mmol/L, respectively, versus 7% in those with peak lactate ≤4 mmol/L ( P ≤ .001), despite comparable citrate load and effluent rates across all categories. On multivariate analysis, hyperlactatemia and hyperbilirubinemia predicted CI ( P ≤ .01), which was associated with increasing calcium infusion requirement. Higher peak lactate from >4 to >7 mmol/L predicted CI with graded increase in odds ratio and specificity from 59% to 87%, but the corresponding negative predictive value from 93% to 87%. Area under nonparametric receiver operating characteristic curve for peak lactate and CI was 0.78. CONCLUSION:: Hyperlactatemia predicts CI during RCA-CVVH with reasonable discriminatory performance in critically ill patients. Serum lactate surveillance may help preempt issues with citrate toxicity.

Environmentally-Friendly Extraction of Flavonoids from Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Iljinskaja Leaves with Deep Eutectic Solvents and Evaluation of Their Antioxidant Activities.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are commonly employed as environmentally-friendly solvents in numerous chemical applications owing to their unique physicochemical properties. In this study, a novel and environmentally-friendly extraction method based on ultrasound assisted-deep eutectic solvent extraction (UAE-DES) was investigated for the extraction of flavonoids from Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Iljinskaja (C. paliurus) leaves, and the antioxidant activities of these flavonoids were evaluated. Nine different DES systems based on either two or three components were tested, and the choline chloride/1,4⁻butanediol system (1:5 molar ratio) was selected as the optimal system for maximizing the flavonoid extraction yields. Other extraction conditions required to achieve the maximum flavonoid extraction yields from the leaves of C. paliurus were as follows: DES water content (v/v), 30%; extraction time, 30 min; temperature, 60 °C; and solid-liquid ratio, 20 mg/mL. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry allowed the detection of five flavonoids in the extract, namely kaempferol-7-O-α-l-rhamnoside, kaempferol, quercetin, quercetin-3-O-ß-d-glucuronide, and kaempferol-3-O-ß-d-glucuronide. In vitro antioxidant tests revealed that the flavonoid-containing extract exhibited strong DPPH and ABTS radical-scavenging abilities. Results indicate that UAE-DES is a suitable approach for the selective extraction of flavonoids from C. paliurus leaves, and DESs can be employed as sustainable extraction media for other bioactive compounds.