The 10-Item Physical Function Scale as a Sarcopenia Screening Tool for Patients on Hemodialysis.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the accuracy of the 10-item Physical Function (PF-10) questions of the SF-36 quality of life questionnaire as a sarcopenia screening tool among patients on hemodialysis. METHODS: A cross-sectional, multicenter study that included adult patients on hemodialysis. The revised European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People was used to diagnose sarcopenia. The 10 questions about daily activities from the SF-36 quality of life questionnaire were used to appoint the PF-10, where the final score could range from 10 to 30, and the lower the worse the physical function. The PF-10 accuracy to identify confirmed sarcopenia (low muscle strength + low muscle mass) was assessed through a receiver operating characteristic curve and the cutoff was calculated using the Youden index. RESULTS: One hundred eighty-five patients were included (median 59 years; 45% female). Prevalence of confirmed sarcopenia was 31.4%. The median PF-10 score was 23 (interquartile range: 17-27) and a significant association with all sarcopenia measurements was found (all P < .05). The best cutoff calculated from the receiver operating characteristic curve was ≤26 points (area under the curve = 0.69, 95% confidence interval 0.61-0.77) with sensitivity and specificity of 96.6% and 71.0%, respectively. Moreover, patients with ≤26 points (n = 133, 72%) had a higher prevalence of low muscle strength by handgrip (53 vs. 19%; P < .001) and 5-time sit-to-stand (41 vs. 10%; P < .001), low gait speed (44 vs. 19%; P = .002), confirmed sarcopenia (39 vs. 11%; P < .001), and severe sarcopenia (26 vs. 4%; P = .001), but not low muscle mass (49 vs. 35%; P = .08), in comparison with those >26 points (n = 52, 28%). CONCLUSION: The PF-10 may be a useful physical dysfunction and sarcopenia screening tool in patients on hemodialysis. A PF-10 threshold of around 26 points appeared to display the fairest accuracy for diagnosing sarcopenia.

Serum bicarbonate levels and kidney outcomes in critically ill patients: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The interplay between serum bicarbonate levels and kidney outcomes is not fully understood. We conducted a prospective cohort study in three intensive care units (ICUs) to evaluate the association of serum bicarbonate levels with acute kidney injury (AKI) and kidney function recovery in critically ill patients. METHODS: A prospective cohort study in three intensive care units (ICUs) was performed. The serum bicarbonate level in the first 24 h after ICU admission was categorized as low (< 22 mEq/L), normal (22-26 mEq/L), or high (> 26 mEq/L). Serum creatinine (SCr) levels according to the KDIGO AKI guideline were used for defining AKI within the first 7 days of ICU stay. At ICU admission, SCr ≥ 1.1 for women and ≥ 1.3 mg/dL for men were indicative of impaired kidney function. Mortality outcome was tracked up to 28 days, and kidney function recovery was assessed at hospital discharge. RESULTS: A total of 2732 patients (66 ± 19 years and 55% men) were analyzed, with 32% having impaired kidney function at ICU admission. Overall, 26% of patients had low bicarbonate levels, while 32% had high bicarbonate levels. Notably, patients with preserved kidney function showed a lower prevalence of low bicarbonate levels compared to those with impaired kidney function (20% vs. 39%, p < 0.001), while higher rates were observed for high bicarbonate (35% vs. 24%, p < 0.001). Compared with patients with normal serum bicarbonate levels, those with low bicarbonate were 81% more likely to develop AKI (OR = 1.81; 95% CI 1.10-2.99), whereas those with high bicarbonate were 44% less likely (OR = 0.56; 95% CI 0.32-0.98) in the adjusted model for confounders. Neither those with high nor low serum bicarbonate levels were associated with an increased risk of mortality (HR = 1.03; 95% CI 0.68-1.56 and 0.99; 95% CI 0.68-1.42, respectively). In subgroup analysis, regardless of the kidney function at ICU admission, serum bicarbonate levels were not associated with the development of AKI and all-cause mortality. Regarding kidney function recovery, higher non-recovery rates were found for those with low bicarbonate. CONCLUSION: In critically ill ICU patients, low bicarbonate levels were associated with the more likely development of AKI and subsequent non-recovery of kidney function, while high bicarbonate levels showed no such association. Therefore, low bicarbonate levels may be considered a risk factor for adverse kidney outcomes in critically ill patients.

Design and methodology of the SARCopenia trajectories and associations with adverse clinical outcomes in patients on HemoDialysis: the SARC-HD study.

BACKGROUND: Sarcopenia has been associated with adverse outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), particularly in those undergoing hemodialysis (HD). However, the trajectories across sarcopenia stages, their determinants, and associations with adverse clinical outcomes have yet to be comprehensively examined. METHODS: The SARC-HD is a multicenter, observational prospective cohort study designed to comprehensively investigate sarcopenia in patients on HD. Eligibility criteria include adult patients undergoing HD for ≥ 3 months. The primary objective is to investigate the trajectories of sarcopenia stages and their potential determinants. Secondary objectives include evaluating the association between sarcopenia and adverse clinical outcomes (i.e., falls, hospitalization, and mortality). Sarcopenia risk will be assessed by the SARC-F and SARC-CalF questionnaire. Sarcopenia traits (i.e., low muscle strength, low muscle mass, and low physical performance) will be defined according to the revised European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People and will be assessed at baseline and after 12 follow-up months. Patients will be followed-up at 3 monthly intervals for adverse clinical outcomes during 24 months. DISCUSSION: Collectively, we expect to provide relevant clinical findings for healthcare professionals from nephrology on the association between sarcopenia screening tools (i.e., SARC-F and SARC-CalF) with objective sarcopenia measurements, as well as to investigate predictors of trajectories across sarcopenia stages, and the impact of sarcopenia on adverse clinical outcomes. Hence, our ambition is that the data acquired from SARC-HD study will provide novel and valuable evidence to support an adequate screening and management of sarcopenia in patients on HD.

Intradialytic resistance training for short daily hemodialysis patients as part of the clinical routine: a quasi-experimental study.

Background and purpose: Hemodialysis patients have chronic systemic inflammation, musculoskeletal impairments, and body composition changes from several factors and exercise may attenuate. We evaluated the effects of an intradialytic resistance training program on body composition, physical function, and inflammatory markers in patients under short daily hemodialysis treatment. Materials and methods: A quasi-experimental study in clinical routine was conducted over eight months. Measures of physical function (handgrip strength, five-time sit-to-stand, timed-up and go, and gait speed), body composition (by bioelectrical impedance), and inflammatory markers (interleukin [IL]-1 beta, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70, and tumor necrosis factor-α) were assessed at baseline as well as at four and eight months past continued intervention. Patients underwent two intradialytic resistance training sessions per week supervised by exercise professionals. Results: A total of 18 patients (62 ± 14 years; 55.6% ≥ 60 years; 44% female) were included. Significant increases in body mass index and basal metabolic rate were found at four and eight months compared to baseline. For physical function, timed-up and go performance improved at four and eight months compared to baseline. The other body composition and physical function measures, as well as all inflammatory markers, did not significantly change over time. Conclusion: A supervised intradialytic resistance training program for patients on short daily hemodialysis treatment, as part of the clinical routine, may induce modest changes in body mass index, basal metabolic rate, and timed-up and go performance.

Implementing a resistance training programme for patients on short daily haemodialysis: A feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: Kidney failure patients receiving haemodialysis experience protein-energy wasting, muscle mass loss and physical function impairment. Intradialytic exercise interventions seem to modify these features, but they are often not implemented as a clinical routine. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of implementing a supervised intradialytic resistance training programme as a clinical routine for patients receiving short daily haemodialysis. DESIGN: A prospective longitudinal study. PARTICIPANTS: Eighteen patients in a supervised intradialytic resistance training programme for 8 months. MEASUREMENTS: It consisted of a warm-up, lower- and upper-limb resistance exercises and a cool-down. Patients performed the resistance training during the first half of haemodialysis, twice a week, supervised by exercise physiologists and physiotherapists. The feasibility was assessed by the total and partial adherences, the reasons for refusing or for not exercising and the intradialytic complications. RESULTS: From a total of 953 potential exercise sessions, 759 were performed, with a 79.6% adherence rate. In the first 9 weeks, the adherence rate was 86.6% and the lowest rate was in the 19-27 weeks (73.5%). The main intradialytic complication during exercise sessions was hypotension (n = 31; 4.1%). The highest number of complications was reported during the first 9 weeks (n = 27; 9.1%). The main reasons for refusing or for not performing the intradialytic exercise sessions were clinical complications previous to exercise time (n = 63; 32.5%) and self-reported indisposition (n = 62; 32.0%). CONCLUSIONS: The intradialytic resistance training programme, supervised by exercise physiologists and physiotherapists, had very low complications, achieved a high long-term adherence rate and showed to be feasible as a clinical routine for patients receiving short daily haemodialysis.

Association of magnesium abnormalities at intensive care unit admission with kidney outcomes and mortality: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Magnesium abnormalities have been associated with adverse kidney outcomes and mortality in critically ill patients, however, this association remains inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate the association of magnesium abnormalities at intensive care unit (ICU) admission with kidney outcomes (i.e., acute kidney injury (AKI) and kidney function recovery) and mortality risk in a large cohort of critically ill patients. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted by collecting data from three ICUs in Brazil. The ICU admission serum magnesium level was used to define hypomagnesemia (< 1.60 mg/dL) and hypermagnesemia (> 2.40 mg/dL). The Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes AKI Guideline was used to define AKI based on serum creatinine levels. Kidney function recovery was defined as full recovery, partial recovery, and non-recovery at ICU discharge. Mortality was screened up to 28 days during ICU stay. RESULTS: A total of 7,042 patients was analyzed, hypomagnesemia was found in 18.4% (n = 1,299) and hypermagnesemia in 4.4% (n = 311). Patients with hypomagnesemia were 25% more likely to develop AKI after adjustment for confounding variables (OR = 1.25; 95% CI 1.08-1.46). No significant association was found for hypermagnesemia and AKI (OR = 1.18; 95% CI 0.89-1.57). Kidney function recovery was similar among groups but hypermagnesemia had lower non-recovery rates. Both hypomagnesemia and hypermagnesemia were associated with 65 and 52% higher mortality risk after adjustments for confounders, respectively (HR = 1.65; 95% CI 1.32-2.06 and 1.52; 95% CI 1.01-2.29). CONCLUSIONS: Hypomagnesemia, but not hypermagnesemia, at ICU admission was associated with AKI development. On the other hand, both hypomagnesemia and hypermagnesemia were associated with higher mortality risks.

Physical activity is associated with nutritional biomarkers in hemodialysis patients: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between physical activity levels and nutritional biomarkers in hemodialysis patients. METHODS: Eighty-six patients responded to the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire to estimate the metabolic equivalent of tasks (MET) per week. A MET-min per week <600 was considered as sedentary. The nutritional biomarkers (i.e., albumin, globulin, and albumin/globulin ratio) were collected. RESULTS: Sixty-five patients (75.6%) were sedentary. Binary logistic regression showed that patients with low albumin levels had an 89% lower chance to be physically active (p = 0.037), but it was not significant in the adjusted analysis (p = 0.052). Albumin and albumin/globulin ratio levels were correlated with MET-min per week (r = 0.34 and 0.30; both p < 0.05). Additionally, lower median albumin and albumin/globulin ratio levels were found in the sedentary patients (p = 0.021 and p = 0.031), respectively. CONCLUSION: The physical activity levels were associated with albumin and albumin/globulin ratio, surrogates of nutritional status in hemodialysis patients. These nutritional biomarkers were lower in sedentary patients.