Fistula use after concurrent arteriovenous fistula formation and Tenckhoff catheter insertion.

A significant proportion of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients will have abrupt technique failure requiring conversion to haemodialysis, often using temporary vascular catheters as bridging access. However, vascular catheter use has been associated with increased mortality and great effort has been made to reduce their use. Just under two decades ago, a trial of dual arteriovenous fistula (AVF) formation and Tenckhoff catheter insertion reported only 4% of those in whom back-up fistulae were formed ever used them. Patient demographic, surgical technique and fistula care over those decades have changed substantially, potentially making this practice feasible. Thirty-five selected patients at Concord Repatriation and General Hospital had AVF formed at the time of Tenckhoff insertion and were entered prospectively into a vascular access database. We retrospectively examined this database with a median follow up of 345 days (interquartile range 183-658). Thirty-one per cent of all patients used the preformed AVF, and a further 19% who were still on PD had clinically functioning AVF. The vast majority (62%) had abrupt PD technique failure. This is a marked difference to dated reports of AVF use after concurrent PD and AVF formation. It raises the possibility that the formation of back-up fistula may be another method to reduce the need for vascular catheter use.

Effect of early use of low-dose aspirin therapy on late-onset preeclampsia.

OBJECTIVE: Low-dose aspirin (LDA) therapy has been found to be effective in preventing the development of early-onset preeclampsia. However, its effect on late-onset preeclampsia has not been described. Our study was aimed at determining if LDA therapy prescribed from early in pregnancy modified the severity of late-onset preeclampsia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of all women who were screened for early-onset preeclampsia at 11-13+6 weeks' gestation between April 2012 and October 2014 at our institution, and who subsequently developed late-onset preeclampsia. The treatment group consisted of women who were prescribed LDA therapy from early in pregnancy as a result of the screening. The control group consisted of women who did not receive LDA therapy. RESULTS: The aspirin group was associated with earlier delivery at 38.0 (37.5-38.5) weeks' gestation versus 39.0 (38.7-39.4) weeks' gestation for the nonaspirin group (p < .01). The aspirin group was also associated with lower absolute birth weight 2851 (2646-3055) versus 3215 (3068-3362) grams in the nonaspirin group (p < .01). However, when normalised for gestational age at delivery, the proportion of foetuses that were small for gestation age (< 10th centile) were not significantly different between the two groups [28% in aspirin group versus 23% in nonaspirin group; p = .62]. No other significant difference was noted. CONCLUSIONS: There was no difference in the clinical severity of late-onset preeclampsia between women screened as high risk for early-onset preeclampsia and subsequently prescribed LDA during their pregnancy, compared to women found to be at low risk and not prescribed LDA.

Home blood pressure measurement in women with pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders.

OBJECTIVES: To determine if home blood pressure measurement (HBPM) provides comparable results to clinic blood pressure (BP) measurement. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective, single-centre study of 37 pregnant and early post-partum women with a hypertensive pregnancy or at high-risk of developing a hypertensive pregnancy were asked to perform HBPM for a minimum period of one week. This was subsequently compared to clinic BP measurement both before and after the period of home measurement. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The accuracy of HBPM compared to clinic measurement, and the acceptability by patients for HBPM. RESULTS: The HBPM was comparable to clinic measurements [for the systolic blood pressure (SBP), the mean home reading was 123.4mmHg (122.0-124.9mmHg) versus 123.9mmHg (121.3-126.5mmHg) for the clinic reading (p=0.69); for the diastolic blood pressure (DBP) the mean home reading was 81.6mmHg (80.4-82.8mmHg) versus 84.4mmHg (82.6-86.2mmHg) for the clinic (p<0.01)]. There were no reported issues associated with the use of HBPM, but it did lead to 5 women contacting health care professionals for management of their BP between clinic visits. CONCLUSIONS: HBPM provides comparable results to the clinic BP measurement. It is also an acceptable technique for pregnant and early post-partum women. However, it should be used as an adjunct to clinic measurement, and cannot at this present stage replace clinic visits or clinic BP measurement.

Duration of Hemodialysis Following Peritoneal Dialysis Cessation in Australia and New Zealand: Proposal for a Standardized Definition of Technique Failure.

♦ BACKGROUND: Although technique failure is a key outcome in peritoneal dialysis (PD), there is currently no agreement on a uniform definition. We explored different definitions of PD technique failure using data from the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant (ANZDATA) Registry. ♦ METHODS: We included 16,612 incident PD patients in Australia and New Zealand from January 1998 to December 2012. Different definitions of technique failure were applied according to the minimum number of days (30, 60, 90, 180, or 365) the patient received hemodialysis after cessation of PD. ♦ RESULTS: Median technique survival varied from 2.0 years with the 30-day definition to 2.4 years with the 365-day definition. For all definitions, the most common causes of technique failure were death, followed by infectious complications. The likelihood of a patient returning to PD within 12 months of technique failure was highest in the 30-day definition (24%), and was very small when using the 180- and 365-day definitions (3% and 0.8%, respectively). Patients whose technique failed due to mechanical reasons were the most likely to return to PD (46% within 12 months using the 30-day definition). ♦ CONCLUSIONS: Both 30- and 180-day definitions have clinical relevance but offer different perspectives with very different prognostic implications for further PD. Therefore, we propose that PD technique failure be defined by a composite endpoint of death or transfer to hemodialysis using both 30-day and 180-day definitions.

Predictors and outcomes of transfers from peritoneal dialysis to hemodialysis.

INTRODUCTION: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients are commonly required to transfer to hemodialysis (HD), however the literature describing the outcomes of such transfers is limited. The aim of our study was to describe the predictors of these transfers and their outcomes according to vascular access at the time of transfer. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study using registry data of all adult patients commencing PD as their initial renal replacement therapy in Australia or New Zealand between 2004 - 2010 was performed. Follow-up was until 31 December 2010. Logistic regression models were constructed to determine possible predictors of transfer within both 6 and 12 months of PD commencement. Cox analysis and competing risks regression were used to determine the predictors of survival and transplantation post-transfer. RESULTS: The analysis included 4,781 incident PD patients, of whom 1,699 transferred to HD during the study period. Logistic models did not identify any clinically useful predictors of transfer within 6 or 12 months (c-statistics 0.54 and 0.55 respectively). 67% of patients commenced HD with a central venous catheter (CVC). CVC use at transfer was associated with increased mortality (hazard ratio 1.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11 - 1.68, p = 0.003) and a borderline significant reduction in the incidence of transplantation (subhazard ratio 0.76, 95% CI 0.58 - 1.00, p = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: It is difficult to predict the transfer to HD for incident PD patients. PD patients who commence HD with a CVC have a higher risk of mortality and a lower likelihood of undergoing renal transplantation.

Measuring blood pressure in pregnancy and postpartum: assessing the reliability of automated measuring devices.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the reliability of automated blood pressure (BP) measuring devices in hypertensive pregnancies. METHODS: Three sequential measurements were taken using mercury sphygmomanometry and an automated device in pregnant hypertensive women (n = 89). RESULTS: Systolic BP (SBP) was higher with the automated device (mean difference 2.5 mmHg, 95% CI: 1.9-3.2 mmHg), whereas diastolic BP (DBP) was higher with the mercury sphygmomanometer (mean difference 2.0 mmHg, 95% CI: 1.5-2.6 mmHg). Within-patient variability for the automated device was: SBP 4.8 mmHg (95% CI: 4.6-5.2 mmHg), DBP 3.4 mmHg (95% CI: 3.1-3.7 mmHg); and for mercury sphygmomanometry: SBP 3.7 mmHg (95% CI: 3.5-4.0 mmHg), DBP 3.0 mmHg (95% CI: 2.8-3.3 mmHg). CONCLUSION: Outpatient automated BP measurement agrees well with mercury sphygmomanometry in hypertensive pregnancies.

The association between peritoneal dialysis modality and peritonitis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is conflicting evidence comparing peritonitis rates among patients treated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) or automated peritoneal dialysis (APD). This study aims to clarify the relationship between peritoneal dialysis (PD) modality (APD versus CAPD) and the risk of developing PD-associated peritonitis. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: This study examined the association between PD modality (APD versus CAPD) and the risks, microbiology, and clinical outcomes of PD-associated peritonitis in 6959 incident Australian PD patients between October 1, 2003, and December 31, 2011, using data from the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry. Median follow-up time was 1.9 years. RESULTS: Patients receiving APD were younger (60 versus 64 years) and had fewer comorbidities. There was no association between PD modality and time to first peritonitis episode (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] for APD versus CAPD, 0.98; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.91 to 1.07; P=0.71). However, there was a lower hazard of developing Gram-positive peritonitis with APD than CAPD, which reached borderline significance (HR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.80 to 1.00; P=0.05). No statistically significant difference was found in the risk of hospitalizations (odds ratio, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.93 to 1.35; P=0.22), but there was a nonsignificant higher likelihood of 30-day mortality (odds ratio, 1.33; 95% CI, 0.93 to 1.88; P=0.11) at the time of the first episode of peritonitis for patients receiving APD. For all peritonitis episodes (including subsequent episodes of peritonitis), APD was associated with lower rates of culture-negative peritonitis (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 0.81; 95% CI, 0.69 to 0.94; P=0.002) and higher rates of gram-negative peritonitis (IRR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.46; P=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: PD modality was not associated with a higher likelihood of developing peritonitis. However, APD was associated with a borderline reduction in the likelihood of a first episode of Gram-positive peritonitis compared with CAPD, and with lower rates of culture-negative peritonitis and higher rates of Gram-negative peritonitis. Peritonitis outcomes were comparable between both modalities.