Cinacalcet use in pediatric chronic kidney disease. A survey study.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the practice and attitude of pediatrics nephrologists about cinacalcet use in children. METHODS: An electronic structured questionnaire was answered by pediatric nephrologists practicing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Gulf Council countries (GCC). RESULTS: A total of 42  pediatric nephrologists responded, of them, 42% used cinacalcet for young children ≤5 years of age and 79% used for children. There were wide variations in the method of administration (examples: crushed, divided, whole tablets), monitoring, doses and response definition, and follow-up. No serious complications after starting cinacalcet was observed in 50%, while 40% reported various complications, mainly hypocalcemia (70%). Cinacalcet was stopped without achieving the target parathyroid hormone in more than half (55%) of children because of intractable adverse effects (40%), poor response (30%), non-adherence (25%), or high cost (5%). CONCLUSION: Cinacalcet is used by the majority of pediatric nephrologists in KSA and GCC. A standard clinical guideline is needed to be followed by all users.

Is mitrofanoff a more socially accepted clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) route for children and their families?

AIM: We aimed to examine the social impact of clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) on children with a neurogenic bladder and to compare the impact of urethral CIC with Mitrofanoff catheterization. METHODS: Questionnaires containing 29 questions about the social impact of CIC on the children and their families were administered with their parents or caregivers of 50 children (34 boys and 16 girls) using CIC. The mean (standard deviation [SD]) age of the children was 9.6 (4.32) years and duration on CIC was 6.1 (3.97) years. RESULTS: Seventeen children were using Mitrofanoff catheterization (group I) and 33 children urethral catheterization (group II). Of the respondents, 54% respondents reported that their children accept the use of CIC, 30% respondents reported that they do not like it, and 16% respondents reported that they always refuse and resist it. There was no difference in the level of acceptance between the two groups. Both groups reported that children were social (90%) and had close friends (88%). However, 50% felt that CIC affected mood, with 30% of the children displaying bad temper. Mitrofanoff catheterization was associated with fewer episodes of frequent urinary tract infection (p = 0.004) and greater adherence. All children from group I, who were older than 6 years, were attending school compared with 78% from group II. School performance was significantly better in group I (p = 0.022). CONCLUSION: There was acceptance of CIC by most children but Mitrofanoff catheterization seemed to have a lower social impact in terms of school performance, adherence to therapy, and complications.