Association between urinary sodium excretion and hard outcomes in non-dialysis chronic kidney disease patients.

BACKGROUND: Restriction of sodium intake is routinely recommended for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Whether or not sodium intake is associated with the progression of CKD and mortality remains uncertain. We evaluated the association between urinary sodium excretion (as a surrogate for sodium intake) with the occurrence of renal failure and mortality in patients with non-dialytic CKD. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of patients followed at a CKD clinic care hospital from October 2006 to March 2017. Adult patients with non-dialytic CKD were included. Using a time-to-event analysis, we examined the association of urinary sodium excretion as a categorical variable (categorized as quintiles: 1st quintile: 0.54-2.51 g; 2nd quintile: 2.52-3.11 g, 3rd quintile: 3.12-3.97 g, 4th quintile: 3.98-5.24 g and 5th quintile: 5.26-13.80 g) and the outcomes of interest. The primary outcome was defined as progression to end-stage renal disease requiring any type of renal replacement therapy. The secondary outcome was mortality. RESULTS: Two hundred five patients were included in the study (mean follow up of 2.6 years) with a mean eGFR of 26 (19-41) ml/min/1.73m2. 37 patients (18%) required renal replacement therapy and 52 (25,3%) died. There was association between urinary sodium excretion and need for renal replacement therapy (adjusted HR 0.245; 95%CI 0.660-0.912). There was no association between urinary sodium excretion and mortality in adjusted models. CONCLUSION: Moderate sodium intake was associated with a lower risk of renal failure.

Association between vitamin D levels and mortality in hemodialysis patients: a cohort study.

Introduction: Low vitamin D levels are associated with mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients; however, the serum vitamin D thresholds are unclear. This study aimed to identify the vitamin D level below which mortality increases in HD patients.Methods: A cohort of HD patients enrolled from January 2014 to January 2017 was evaluated. The variables were analyzed according to the season, namely, summer, winter, and annual average, mortality was the primary outcome. The patients were assigned to vitamin D quintiles, and multivariate Cox regression analysis adjusted for age, ethnicity, gender, body mass index (BMI), inhibitors of the renin-angiotensin system, statin, calcitriol, and antiplatelet drugs use, hemodialysis vintage, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, atherosclerotic disease, and C-reactive protein was performed.Results: There were studied 306 patients. Vitamin D levels of 18.0-23.6 ng/mL (hazard ratio [HR] = 4.30; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.60-11.54, p = 0.004) and <18.0 ng/mL (HR = 3.83; 95% CI: 1.42-10.35, p = 0.008) in summer and vitamin D levels of 21.5-27.1 ng/mL (HR = 3.70; 95% CI: 1.50-9.11, p = 0.004) and ≤17.5 ng/mL (HR = 2.84; 95% CI: 1.13-7.13, p = 0.026) in winter were associated with mortality. The average annual values of vitamin D associated with all-cause mortality were <17.7 ng/dL (adjusted HR = 4.25, 95% CI: 1.57-11.48, p = 0.004), and between >17.7 ng/dL and ≤23.1 ng/dL (adjusted HR = 3.91, 95% CI: 1.47-10.42, p = 0.006).Conclusions: Annual average vitamin D levels <23.1 ng/mL were associated with higher all-cause mortality, regardless of the confounding variables evaluated.

Influence of the intra-peritoneal segment of the swan neck peritoneal catheter on infectious and mechanical complications and technique survival.

BACKGROUND: There is no consensus about the preferable type of catheter for successful peritoneal dialysis. Intra- and extra-peritoneal catheter configuration may be associated with mechanical and infectious complications affecting technique survival. The objective of this study was to compare the mechanical and infectious complications of coiled versus straight swan neck (SN) peritoneal dialysis catheters. METHODS: A prospective randomized trial was performed to compare mechanical (tip migration with dysfunction) and infectious (peritonitis and exit site infection) complications between catheters randomly divided into two groups: swan neck straight tip and swan neck coiled tip. The follow-up was 1 year. RESULTS: A total of 49 catheters, in 46 patients, were included from April 2015 to February 2016. The catheters groups were constituted as: 25 coiled tip SN and 24 straight tip SN. The baseline demographics were similar among the groups. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates were not different for time to first exit site infection, peritonitis and time to first catheter tip migration (log-rank test, p = 0.07, p = 0.54 and p = 0.83, respectively). Catheter survival and method survival were also similar (log-rank p = 0.88 and p = 0.91, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The two types of intra-peritoneal segments of SN catheters studied presented similar infectious and mechanical rates with no differences in catheter and technique survival curve. These results were consistent with the recommendations of the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis.

Improving adherence to Standard Precautions for the control of health care-associated infections.

BACKGROUND: 'Standard Precautions' refers to a system of actions, such as using personal protective equipment or adhering to safe handling of needles, that healthcare workers take to reduce the spread of germs in healthcare settings such as hospitals and nursing homes. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of interventions that target healthcare workers to improve adherence to Standard Precautions in patient care. SEARCH METHODS: We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, LILACS, two other databases, and two trials registers. We applied no language restrictions. The date of the most recent search was 14 February 2017. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomised trials of individuals, cluster-randomised trials, non-randomised trials, controlled before-after studies, and interrupted time-series studies that evaluated any intervention to improve adherence to Standard Precautions by any healthcare worker with responsibility for patient care in any hospital, long-term care or community setting, or artificial setting, such as a classroom or a learning laboratory. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently screened search results, extracted data from eligible trials, and assessed risk of bias for each included study, using standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. Because of substantial heterogeneity among interventions and outcome measures, meta-analysis was not warranted. We used the GRADE approach to assess certainty of evidence and have presented results narratively in 'Summary of findings' tables. MAIN RESULTS: We included eight studies with a total of 673 participants; three studies were conducted in Asia, two in Europe, two in North America, and one in Australia. Five studies were randomised trials, two were cluster-randomised trials, and one was a non-randomised trial. Three studies compared different educational approaches versus no education, one study compared education with visualisation of respiratory particle dispersion versus education alone, two studies compared education with additional infection control support versus no intervention, one study compared peer evaluation versus no intervention, and one study evaluated use of a checklist and coloured cues. We considered all studies to be at high risk of bias with different risks. All eight studies used different measures to assess healthcare workers' adherence to Standard Precautions. Three studies also assessed healthcare workers' knowledge, and one measured rates of colonisation with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among residents and staff of long-term care facilities. Because of heterogeneity in interventions and outcome measures, we did not conduct a meta-analysis.Education may slightly improve both healthcare workers' adherence to Standard Precautions (three studies; four centres) and their level of knowledge (two studies; three centres; low certainty of evidence for both outcomes).Education with visualisation of respiratory particle dispersion probably improves healthcare workers' use of facial protection but probably leads to little or no difference in knowledge (one study; 20 nurses; moderate certainty of evidence for both outcomes).Education with additional infection control support may slightly improve healthcare workers' adherence to Standard Precautions (two studies; 44 long-term care facilities; low certainty of evidence) but probably leads to little or no difference in rates of health care-associated colonisation with MRSA (one study; 32 long-term care facilities; moderate certainty of evidence).Peer evaluation probably improves healthcare workers' adherence to Standard Precautions (one study; one hospital; moderate certainty of evidence).Checklists and coloured cues probably improve healthcare workers' adherence to Standard Precautions (one study; one hospital; moderate certainty of evidence). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Considerable variation in interventions and in outcome measures used, along with high risk of bias and variability in the certainty of evidence, makes it difficult to draw conclusions about effectiveness of the interventions. This review underlines the need to conduct more robust studies evaluating similar types of interventions and using similar outcome measures.

Peritonitis in Children on Chronic Peritoneal Dialysis: The Experience of a Large National Pediatric Cohort.

BACKGROUND: We performed this study to evaluate the incidence, risk factors, microbiology, treatment, and outcome of peritonitis in pediatric Peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients at a nationwide prospective study. METHODOLOGY: Patients younger than 18 years recruited in the BRAZPD II study from 2004 to 2011, who presented their first peritonitis episode, were included in the study. RESULTS: We found 125 first episodes of peritonitis in 491 children PD patients (0.43 episodes/patient-year). Patients free of peritonitis episode constituted 75.6% in 1 year. Culture-negative episodes were very high (59.2%) and gram-positive (GP) bacteria were the most commonly found organisms (58.8%). First-generation cephalosporin was the initial choice to cover GP (40.5%) and aminoglycosides was the most prescribed antibiotics used for gram-negative agents (27.5%). Treatment failure was 26.4%. Technique failure (TF) occurred in 12.1% and peritonitis was the main cause (65.1%). Pseudomonas (p = 0.04) and negative cultures (p < 0.001) were identified as predictors of TF. CONCLUSION: Peritonitis remains a common complication of PD in children and negative cultures and pseudomonas had a negative impact on TF.

Peritonitis as a risk factor for long-term cardiovascular mortality in peritoneal dialysis patients: The case of a friendly fire?

AIM: Since the impact of peritonitis on long-term non-infectious mortality has not been investigated until the present, the aim of this study was to analyze the impact of peritonitis on long-term cardiovascular (CV) mortality in a large peritoneal dialysis (PD) cohort. METHODS: The analysis was based on BRAZPD II, a national prospective cohort study that recruited patients in Brazilian centres from December 2004 to January 2011. Incident adult PD patients with at least 90 days on treatment were included in the analysis. Cardiovascular death occurring after a minimum of 30 days after a peritonitis episode was considered the primary endpoint. Cox regression analysis for time-dependent variables was used for the adjustments. RESULTS: There were 2405 episodes of peritonitis in 5707 patients (48% males, 44% diabetes, 73% hypertensive). Patients with one episode of peritonitis presented a 22% increase in the hazard ratio of late CV mortality compared to those who never experienced peritonitis (HR1.22; CI95%1.01-1.47). Adjusted hazard for CV mortality showed a stepwise negative effect on survival for each additional peritonitis episode of infection: two episodes (HR1.78; CI95%1.31-2.42), three episodes (HR2.81; CI95%1.83-4.32) and four episodes (HR3.84; CI95%2.01-7.32). CONCLUSION: Peritonitis was an independent predictor of CV mortality and the frequency of peritonitis was strongly associated with an increase in this risk. This is the first study to demonstrate the impact of peritonitis on late cardiovascular mortality of PD patients, suggesting a link between acute inflammation and cardiovascular outcomes.

Impact of Renin-Angiotensin Aldosterone System Inhibition on Serum Potassium Levels among Peritoneal Dialysis Patients.

BACKGROUND: The chronic use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blocker has been associated with hyperkalemia in patients with reduced renal function even after the initiation of hemodialysis. Whether such medications may cause a similar effect in peritoneal dialysis patients is not well established. So, the aim of our study was to analyze the impact of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone inhibitors on the serum levels of potassium in a national cohort of peritoneal dialysis patients. METHOD: A prospective, observational, nationwide cohort study was conducted. We identified all incident patients on peritoneal dialysis that had angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) prescribed for at least 3 months and a similar period of time without these medications. Patients were divided into 4 groups: Groups I and III correspond to patients using, respectively, an ACEi or ARB and then got the drug suspended; Groups II and IV started peritoneal dialysis without the use of any renin-angiotensin aldosterone system inhibitor and then got, respectively, an ACEi or ARB introduced. Changes in potassium serum levels were compared using 2 statistical approaches: (1) the non-parametric Wilcoxon test for repeated measures and (2) a crossover analysis. RESULTS: Mean potassium serum levels at the first phase of the study for Groups I, II, III, and IV were, respectively, 4.46 ± 0.79, 4.33 ± 0.78, 4.41 ± 0.63, and 4.44 ± 0.56. Changes in mean potassium serum levels for Groups I, II, III, and IV were -0.10 ± 0.60, 0.02 ± 0.56, -0.06 ± 0.46, and 0.03 ± 0.50, respectively. CONCLUSION: The use of ACEi and ARB was not associated with a greater risk for hyperkalemia in stable peritoneal dialysis patients independently of residual renal function.

Urgent-Start Peritoneal Dialysis: The First Year of Brazilian Experience.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate mechanical and infectious complications associated with urgent-start peritoneal dialysis (PD) and patients and technique survival in the first 180 days. METHODS: It was a prospective study that evaluated chronic patients who started unplanned PD using high-volume PD (HVPD) right after (<72 h) PD catheter placement. After hospital discharge, patients were treated with intermittent PD on alternate days in a dialysis unit until family training was provided. RESULTS: Fifty-one patients fulfilling the following criteria were included: age was 62.1 ± 15 years, with diabetes as the main etiology of end-stage renal disease (39%), and uremia as the main dialysis indication (76%). Metabolic and fluid controls were achieved after 3 sessions of HVPD, and patients remained in intermittent PD for 23.2 ± 7.2 days. Mechanical complications occurred in 25.7% and peritonitis rate was 0.5 episode/patient-year. In the first 6 months, technique and patients survival rates were 86 and 82.4% respectively. CONCLUSION: The PD modality was a feasible and safe alternative to hemodialysis in the urgent-start dialysis.

Comparison between types of dressing following catheter insertion and early exit-site infection in peritoneal dialysis.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether the type of dressing used (occlusive vs. semi-occlusive) impacts on exit-site infection. BACKGROUND: The exit-site infections are a major predisposing factor for peritoneal dialysis-related peritonitis, the main cause of technique failure and an important cause of mortality. The care taken in exit-site dressing is considered an important procedure for the prevention of trauma and contamination of this area. Nevertheless, to our knowledge, no study has yet analysed the impact of different dressing types on early exit-site infection (up to two months after catheter insertion). DESIGN: A prospective observational study involving the BRAZPD II (Brazilian Peritoneal Dialysis Multicenter Study) cohort. METHODS: All incident patients with data available for dressing type applied following peritoneal dialysis catheter insertion were included in the study. A multilevel logistic regression model was used to compare the log-odds of exit-site infections between groups. RESULTS: A total of 2460 incident patients were included. Occlusive and semi-occlusive dressings were applied in 82·6% (n = 2031) and 17·4% (n = 427) of patients, respectively. Exit-site infection incidence was not affected by the type of dressing used, with a logit for occlusive dressing of 2·15 (95% CI 0·81-5·70). The combined outcome of exit-site infection and tunnel infection also showed no significance between the groups (logit 1·46, 95% CI 0·72-2·97). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the type of exit-site dressing used during the healing phase following peritoneal dialysis catheter insertion has no impact on early exit-site infection rates. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Provides evidence to support the similarity between occlusive and semi-occlusive dressing regarding infection rates in exit site of peritoneal dialysis catheter, therefore allowing the choice to be made accordingly to routine or availability.

Impact of Pre-Dialysis Care on Clinical Outcomes in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients.

BACKGROUND: Structured pre-dialysis care is associated with an increase in peritoneal dialysis (PD) utilization, but not with peritonitis risk, technical and patient survival. This study aimed at analyzing the impact of pre-dialysis care on these outcomes. METHODS: All incident patients starting PD between 2004 and 2011 in a Brazilian prospective cohort were included in this analysis. Patients were divided into 2 groups: early pre-dialysis care (90 days of follow-up by a nephrology team); and late pre-dialysis care (absent or less than 90 days follow-up). The socio-demographic, clinical and biochemical characteristics between the 2 groups were compared. Risk factors for the time to the first peritonitis episode, technique failure and mortality based on Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: Four thousand one hundred seven patients were included. Patients with early pre-dialysis care presented differences in gender (female - 47.0 vs. 51.1%, p = 0.01); race (white - 63.8 vs. 71.7%, p < 0.01); education (<4 years - 61.9 vs. 71.0%, p < 0.01), respectively, compared to late care. Patients with early pre-dialysis care presented a higher prevalence of comorbidities, lower levels of creatinine, phosphorus, and glucose with a significantly better control of hemoglobin and potassium serum levels. There was no impact of pre-dialysis care on peritonitis rates (hazard ratio (HR) 0.88; 95% CI 0.77-1.01) and technique survival (HR 1.12; 95% CI 0.92-1.36). Patient survival (HR 1.20; 95% CI 1.03-1.41) was better in the early pre-dialysis care group. CONCLUSION: Earlier pre-dialysis care was associated with improved patient survival, but did not influence time to the first peritonitis nor technique survival in this national PD cohort.

Fungal peritonitis in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD) in Brazil: molecular identification, biofilm production and antifungal susceptibility of the agents.

This paper presents data on fungal peritonitis (FP) in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD) at the University Hospital of Botucatu Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil. In a total of 422 patients, 30 developed FP, from which the medical records and the fungal isolates of 23 patient cases were studied. All patients presented abdominal pain, cloudy peritoneal effluent, needed hospitalization, had the catheter removed and were treated with fluconazole or fluconazole plus 5-flucitosine; six of them died due to FP. Concerning the agents, it was observed that Candida parapsilosis was the leading species (9/23), followed by Candida albicans (5/23), Candida orthopsilosis (4/23), Candida tropicalis (3/23), Candida guilliermondii (1/23), and Kodamaea ohmeri (1/23). All the isolates were susceptible to amphotericin B, voriconazole and caspofungin whereas C. albicans isolates were susceptible to all antifungals tested. Resistance to fluconazole was observed in three isolates of C. orthopsilosis, and dose-dependent susceptibility to this antifungal was observed in two isolates of C. parapsilosis and in the K. ohmeri isolate. Biofilm production estimates were high or moderate in most isolates, especially in C. albicans species, and low in C. parapsilosis species, with a marked variation among the isolates. This Brazilian study reinforces that FP in PD is caused by a diverse group of yeasts, most prevalently C. parapsilosis sensu stricto species. In addition, they present significant variation in susceptibility to antifungals and biofilm production, thus contributing to the complexity and severity of the clinical features.

Is Kauppila method able to detect the progression of vascular calcification and predict cardiovascular events in patients undergoing hemodialysis?

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the main cause of death in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Vascular calcification (VC) is common in these patients. The main objective of this study was to evaluate if a semiquantitative radiographic method is able to detect VC progression in a prospective cohort of patients and predict the risk of cardiovascular events. Secondarily, we intend to identify predictors of the presence and progression of VC. METHODS: 49 patients undergoing HD for ≥ 90 days were included. At the beginning and after 12 months, the VC score (VCS) was determined by the Kauppila method, and clinical, nutritional, and laboratory markers were measured. The rates of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events were analyzed from months 13 to 24. RESULTS: Of 49 patients, 55.1% were male, 46.9% diabetic, and the mean age was 59.5 ± 14.4 years. At the beginning of the follow-up, 65.3% of the patients exhibited VC with a median VCS of 4 points. The intracellular water was negatively associated with VC and its intensity. The presence of VC was the only independent predictor of VC progression. Among patients with VC, 17 showed rapid progression, and 15 showed slow progression. The VCS was independently associated with rapid progression, while ΔCS (final VCS - initial VCS) was an independent predictor of cardiovascular events. CONCLUSIONS: The Kauppila method was able to detect VC, its progression, and predict cardiovascular events. These results suggest an association of VC with nutritional status.

Enzyme replacement therapy for Anderson-Fabry disease.

BACKGROUND: Anderson-Fabry disease is an X-linked defect of glycosphingolipid metabolism. Progressive renal insufficiency is a major source of morbidity, additional complications result from cardio- and cerebro-vascular involvement. Survival is reduced among affected males and symptomatic female carriers.This is an update of a Cochrane review first published in 2010, and previously updated in 2013. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of enzyme replacement therapy compared to other interventions, placebo or no interventions, for treating Anderson-Fabry disease. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cystic Fibrosis and Genetic Disorders Group's Inborn Errors of Metabolism Trials Register (date of the most recent search: 08 July 2016). We also searched 'Clinical Trials' on The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, Embase and LILACS (date of the most recent search: 24 September 2015). SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials of agalsidase alfa or beta in participants diagnosed with Anderson-Fabry disease. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two authors selected relevant trials, assessed methodological quality and extracted data. MAIN RESULTS: Nine trials comparing either agalsidase alfa or beta in 351 participants fulfilled the selection criteria.Both trials comparing agalsidase alfa to placebo reported on globotriaosylceramide concentration in plasma and tissue; aggregate results were non-significant. One trial reported pain scores measured by the Brief Pain Inventory severity, there was a statistically significant improvement for participants receiving treatment at up to three months, mean difference -2.10 (95% confidence interval -3.79 to -0.41; at up to five months, mean difference -1.90 (95% confidence interval -3.65 to -0.15); and at up to six months, mean difference -2.00 (95% confidence interval -3.66 to -0.34). There was a significant difference in the Brief Pain Inventory pain-related quality of life at over five months and up to six months, mean difference -2.10 (95% confidence interval -3.92 to -0.28) but not at other time points. Death was not an outcome in either of the trials.One of the three trials comparing agalsidase beta to placebo reported on globotriaosylceramide concentration in plasma and tissue and showed significant improvement: kidney, mean difference -1.70 (95% confidence interval -2.09 to -1.31); heart, mean difference -0.90 (95% confidence interval -1.18 to -0.62); and composite results (renal, cardiac, and cerebrovascular complications and death), mean difference -4.80 (95% confidence interval -5.45 to -4.15). There was no significant difference between groups for death; no trials reported on pain.Only two trials compared agalsidase alfa to agalsidase beta. One of them showed no significant difference between the groups regarding adverse events, risk ratio 0.36 (95% confidence interval 0.08 to 1.59), or any serious adverse events; risk ratio 0.30; (95% confidence interval 0.03 to 2.57).Two trials compared different dosing schedules of agalsidase alfa. One of them involved three different doses (0.2 mg/kg every two weeks; 0.1 mg/kg weekly and; 0.2 mg/kg weekly), the other trial evaluated two further doses to the dosage schedules: 0.4 mg/kg every week and every other week. Both trials failed to show significant differences with various dosing schedules on globotriaosylceramide levels. No significant differences were found among the schedules for the primary efficacy outcome of self-assessed health state, or for pain scores.One trial comparing agalsidase alfa to agalsidase beta showed no significant difference for any adverse events such as dyspnoea and hypertension.The methodological quality of the included trials was generally unclear for the random sequence generation and allocation concealment. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Trials comparing enzyme replacement therapy to placebo show significant improvement with enzyme replacement therapy in regard to microvascular endothelial deposits of globotriaosylceramide and in pain-related quality of life. There is, however, no evidence identifying if the alfa or beta form is superior or the optimal dose or frequency of enzyme replacement therapy. With regards to safety, adverse events (i.e., rigors, fever) were more significant in the agalsidase beta as compared to placebo. The long-term influence of enzyme replacement therapy on risk of morbidity and mortality related to Anderson-Fabry disease remains to be established. This review highlights the need for continued research into the use of enzyme replacement therapy for Anderson-Fabry disease.

Impact of patient training patterns on peritonitis rates in a large national cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Ideal training methods that could ensure best peritoneal dialysis (PD) outcome have not been defined in previous reports. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of training characteristics on peritonitis rates in a large Brazilian cohort. METHODS: Incident patients with valid data on training recruited in the Brazilian Peritoneal Dialysis Multicenter Study (BRAZPD II) from January 2008 to January 2011 were included. Peritonitis was diagnosed according to International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis guidelines; incidence rate of peritonitis (episodes/patient-months) and time to the first peritonitis were used as end points. RESULTS: Two thousand two hundred and forty-three adult patients were included in the analysis: 59 ± 16 years old, 51.8% female, 64.7% with ≤4 years of education. The median training time was 15 h (IQI 10-20 h). Patients were followed for a median of 11.2 months (range 3-36.5). The overall peritonitis rate was 0.29 per year at risk (1 episode/41 patient-months). The mean number of hours of training per day was 1.8 ± 2.4. Less than 1 h of training/day was associated with higher incidence rate when compared with the intervals of 1-2 h/day (P = 0.03) and >2 h/day (P = 0.02). Patients who received a cumulative training of >15 h had significantly lower incidence of peritonitis compared with <15 h (0.26 per year at risk versus 0.32 per year at risk, P = 0.01). The presence of a caregiver and the number of people trained were not significantly associated with peritonitis incidence rate. Training in the immediate 10 days after implantation of the catheter was associated with the highest peritonitis rate (0.32 per year), compared with training prior to catheter implantation (0.28 per year) or >10 days after implantation (0.23 per year). More experienced centers had a lower risk for the first peritonitis (P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to analyze the association between training characteristics and outcomes in a large cohort of PD patients. Low training time (particularly <15 h), smaller center size and the timing of training in relation to catheter implantation were associated with a higher incidence of peritonitis. These results support the recommendation of a minimum amount of training hours to reduce peritonitis incidence regardless of the number of hours trained per day.

Efficacy of antibiotic therapy for peritoneal dialysis-associated peritonitis: a proportional meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The choice of antimicrobials for initial treatment of peritoneal dialysis (PD)-related peritonitis is crucial for a favorable outcome. There is no consensus about the best therapy; few prospective controlled studies have been published, and the only published systematic reviews did not report superiority of any class of antimicrobials. The objective of this review was to analyze the results of PD peritonitis treatment in adult patients by employing a new methodology, the proportional meta-analysis. METHODS: A review of the literature was conducted. There was no language restriction. Studies were obtained from MEDLINE, EMBASE, and LILACS. The inclusion criteria were: (a) case series and RCTs with the number of reported patients in each study greater than five, (b) use of any antibiotic therapy for initial treatment (e.g., cefazolin plus gentamicin or vancomycin plus gentamicin), for Gram-positive (e.g., vancomycin or a first generation cephalosporin), or for Gram-negative rods (e.g., gentamicin, ceftazidime, and fluoroquinolone), (c) patients with PD-related peritonitis, and (d) studies specifying the rates of resolution. A proportional meta-analysis was performed on outcomes using a random-effects model, and the pooled resolution rates were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 64 studies (32 for initial treatment and negative culture, 28 reporting treatment for Gram-positive rods and 24 reporting treatment for Gram-negative rods) and 21 RCTs met all inclusion criteria (14 for initial treatment and negative culture, 8 reporting treatment for Gram-positive rods and 8 reporting treatment for Gram-negative rods). The pooled resolution rate of ceftazidime plus glycopeptide as initial treatment (pooled proportion = 86% [95% CI 0.82-0.89]) was significantly higher than first generation cephalosporin plus aminoglycosides (pooled proportion = 66% [95% CI 0.57-0.75]) and significantly higher than glycopeptides plus aminoglycosides (pooled proportion = 75% [95% CI 0.69-0.80]. Other comparisons of regimens used for either initial treatment, treatment for Gram-positive rods or Gram-negative rods did not show statistically significant differences. CONCLUSION: We showed that the association of a glycopeptide plus ceftazidime is superior to other regimens for initial treatment of PD peritonitis. This result should be carefully analyzed and does not exclude the necessity of monitoring the local microbiologic profile in each dialysis center to choice the initial therapeutic protocol.

Effective use of alteplase for occluded tunneled venous catheter in hemodialysis patients.

Despite their propensity for significant infectious and mechanical complications, tunneled central venous catheters (CVCs) have become a common means of vascular access in the world for patients requiring chronic hemodialysis for end-stage renal disease. The objective of this study was to explore if cryopreserved solutions of the thrombolytic agent alteplase could be used as an effective, safe, and economically reasonable alternative in hemodialysis patients with occluded tunneled CVC. Patients requiring chronic hemodialysis and presenting with occluded tunneled CVC received a sufficient volume of the alteplase solution to fill the occluded catheter. To make alteplase economically feasible, it was diluted to 1-mg/mL aliquots and they were stored at -20°C until use. Eighty-one patients accounting for 179 attempted clearances were assessable for efficacy. One hundred forty-seven (82.1%) of the 179 catheter clearance attempts resulted in successful catheter clearance after one dose. Twenty-seven (15.1%) of all occluded CVCs were successful after two doses whereas five (2.8%) were not. No adverse events were reported. Cryopreserved 1-mg/mL aliquots of alteplase are safe and effective in the clearance of occluded CVC for hemodialysis patients.

Association between chronic kidney disease stages and changes in ambulatory blood pressure monitoring parameters.

INTRODUCTION: Blood pressure (BP) assessment affects the management of arterial hypertension (AH) in chronic kidney disease (CKD). CKD patients have specific patterns of BP behavior during ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). OBJECTIVES: The aim of the current study was to evaluate the associations between progressive stages of CKD and changes in ABPM. METHODOLOGY: This is a cross-sectional study with 851 patients treated in outpatient clinics of a university hospital who underwent ABPM examination from January 2004 to February 2012 in order to assess the presence and control of AH. The outcomes considered were the ABPM parameters. The variable of interest was CKD staging. Confounding factors included age, sex, body mass index, smoking, cause of CKD, and use of antihypertensive drugs. RESULTS: Systolic BP (SBP) was associated with CKD stages 3b and 5, irrespective of confounding variables. Pulse pressure was only associated with stage 5. The SBP coefficient of variation was progressively associated with stages 3a, 4 and 5, while the diastolic blood pressure (DBP) coefficient of variation showed no association. SBP reduction was associated with stages 2, 4 and 5, and the decline in DBP with stages 4 and 5. Other ABPM parameters showed no association with CKD stages after adjustments. CONCLUSION: Advanced stages of CKD were associated with lower nocturnal dipping and greater variability in blood pressure.

Transition between peritoneal dialysis modalities: Impact on blood pressure levels and drug prescription in a national multicentric cohort.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a leading cause of kidney failure, affects most dialysis patients and associates with adverse outcomes. Hypertension can be difficult to control with dialysis modalities having differential effects on sodium and water removal. There are two main types of peritoneal dialysis (PD), automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). It is unknown whether one is superior to the other in controlling blood pressure (BP). Therefore, the aim of our study was to analyse the impact of switching between these two PD modalities on BP levels in a nationally representative cohort. METHODS: This was a cohort study of patients on PD from 122 dialysis centres in Brazil (BRAZPD II study). Clinical and laboratory data were collected monthly throughout the study duration. We selected all patients who remained on PD at least 6 months and 3 months on each modality at minimum. We compared the changes in mean systolic/diastolic blood pressures (SBP/DBP) before and after modality transition using a multilevel mixed-model where patients were at first level and their clinics at the second level. RESULTS: We analysed data of 848 patients (814 starting on CAPD and 34 starting on APD). The SBP decreased by 4 (SD 22) mmHg when transitioning from CAPD to APD (p < 0.001) and increased by 4 (SD 21) mmHg when transitioning from APD to CAPD (p = 0.38); consistent findings were seen for DBP. There was no significant change in the number of antihypertensive drugs prescribed before and after transition. CONCLUSIONS: Transition between PD modalities seems to directly impact on BP levels. Further studies are needed to confirm if switching to APD could be an effective treatment for uncontrolled hypertension among CAPD patients.

Challenges in adapting a stroke unit in a middle-income country: warning about costs and underfunding to achieve the Brazilian Ministry of Health's benchmark.

Background: Since the implementation of the stroke care line in Brazil, the relationship (adequacy) of costs spent during hospitalization with the Brazilian Ministry of Health indicators for a stroke unit have not yet been analyzed. Aims: This study aimed to assess the adequacy of a comprehensive stroke center for key performance indicators and analyze the costs involved in hospitalization. We verified the association between stroke severity at admission and care costs during hospitalization. Methods: A retrospective medical chart review of 451 patients was performed using semiautomatic electronic data from a single comprehensive stroke center in Brazil between July 2018 and January 2020. Clinical and resource utilization data were collected, and the mean acute treatment cost per person was calculated. The Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn's post-test was used to compare the total costs between stroke types and reperfusion therapies. A robust linear regression test was used to verify the association between stroke severity at hospital admission and the total hospitalization costs. Good adequacy rates were observed for several indicators. Results: Data from 451 patients were analyzed. The stroke unit had good adaptation to key performance indicators, but some critical points needed revision and improvement to adapt to the requirements of the Ministry of Health. The average total cost of the patient's stay was the USD 2,637.3, with the daily hospitalization, procedure, operating room, and materials/medication costs equating to USD 2,011.1, USD 220.7, USD 234.1, and USD 98.8, respectively. There was a positive association between the total cost and length of hospital stay (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The stroke unit complied with most of the main performance indicators proposed by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Underfunding of the costs involved in the hospitalization of patients was verified, and high costs were associated with the length of stay, stroke severity, and mechanical thrombectomy.