Divide et Vinces, Therapeutic Apheresis in Nephrological Clinical Practice.

Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) or plasmapheresis has been used in various life-threatening diseases as a primary treatment or in combination with other therapies. It was first successfully employed in the 1960s for diseases like Waldenström's disease and myeloma. Since then, TPE techniques using apheresis membranes have been introduced. Apheresis therapies separate plasma components from blood using membrane screening or centrifugation methods. TPE aims to remove substances involved in the pathophysiology of diseases. It selectively removes high-molecular-weight molecules, substances with prolonged half-life, and those associated with disease pathogenesis. TPE can be performed using membranes or centrifugation, with replacement of extracted plasma volume using albumin or fresh frozen plasma. TPE requires specific competencies in nephrology and can be prescribed and monitored by nephrologists and performed by dialysis nursing staff. TPE can be combined with adsorption-based therapies to enhance its effect, and this approach is called plasma filtration adsorption. Another variation is double plasma filtration, which selectively removes substances based on molecular size. TPE can also be combined with lipoprotein removal strategies for managing familial hypercholesterolemia. TPE is an affordable extracorporeal therapy that benefits patients with life-threatening diseases. It requires collaboration between nephrologists and other specialists, and our results demonstrate successful TPE without anticoagulation in general hospitalization or outpatient settings.

Estado del arte del síndrome cardiorrenal, ventajas y limitaciones de las terapias conocidas / State of the art of cardiorenal syndrome, advantages and limitations of known therapies

Resumen Las interacciones entre las enfermedades cardiacas y las renales se han clasificado como síndromes cardiorrenales. La clasificación actual incluye cinco subtipos: insuficiencia cardiaca aguda que conduce a insuficiencia renal aguda (tipo 1), insuficiencia cardiaca crónica que conduce a insuficiencia renal (tipo 2), lesión renal aguda que conduce a insuficiencia cardiaca (tipo 3), enfermedad renal crónica que conduce a insuficiencia cardiaca (tipo 4) y afecciones sistémicas que conducen a insuficiencia cardiaca y renal (tipo 5) (tabla 1)1,2. En esta revisión discutimos la definición, la clasificación y la fisiopatología del síndrome cardiorrenal, enfocándonos en el manejo en fases agudas y su recuperación, al exponer la evidencia actualmente disponible de los diuréticos y la ultrafiltración, con el objetivo de intervenir de manera oportuna a nuestros pacientes al conocer las ventajas y las limitaciones de cada una de las estrategias de manejo en aras de reducir el riesgo de eventos clínicos, rehospitalización y muerte.

Abstract Interactions between heart and kidney disease have been classified as cardiorenal syndromes. The current classification includes five subtypes, which are: acute heart failure leading to acute kidney failure (type 1), chronic heart failure leading to kidney failure (type 2), acute kidney injury leading to heart failure (type 3), chronic kidney disease leading to heart failure (type 4) and systemic conditions leading to heart and kidney failure (type 5) (table 1)1,2. In this review, we discuss the definition, classification, pathophysiology, focusing on acute phases treatment and its recovery, exposing the actual evidence for diuretics and ultrafiltration in order to intervene in a timely manner, pointing out the main advantages and limitations of each of the available strategies of treatment in order to reduce the risk of clinical events, re-hospitalization and death.

La personalidad como factor que predispone a la variación en los registros cardiacos / Personality as a predisposing factor to variation in cardiac registers

Resumen Introducción: La hipertensión arterial genera millones de muertes en el mundo. Su multicausalidad abarca factores como alimentación, ejercicio, consumo de sustancias, ciclos circadianos, emociones y genética. Es posible que la personalidad sea un recurso precipitante o protector frente a la enfermedad cardiaca. Objetivo: Identificar la relación entre los factores de personalidad y las variaciones fisiológicas de la presión arterial y la frecuencia cardiaca ante estímulos emocionales y motores. Método: Estudio exploratorio intrasujeto ABA en adultos jóvenes sanos para enfermedad cardiaca. En la fase A se aplicó el cuestionario de datos sociodemográficos, Big Five, y se registraron la presión arterial y la frecuencia cardiaca. En la fase B se emplearon estímulos emocionales y motores para el registro de las variables fisiológicas. En la siguiente fase A se registraron la frecuencia cardiaca y la presión arterial en reposo. Resultados: En promedio, la presión arterial de los hombres fue más alta que la de las mujeres, con valores de 124/72 mmHg frente a 113/66 mmHg. Existen correlaciones negativas significativas entre la presión arterial en sístole y los factores de personalidad neuroticismo y conciencia, con valores de r = −0.198 y r = −0.254 (p <0.05), respectivamente. Conclusiones: Este estudio aporta evidencia empírica de la relación entre el sexo y la personalidad. Es probable que ser hombre y los factores de neuroticismo y conciencia con presión arterial alta sean indicadores relevantes para el diseño de programas de prevención que posibiliten la inclusión de la personalidad como variable relacionada con el diagnóstico de enfermedades cardiovasculares.

Abstract Introduction: Arterial hypertension generates millions of deaths, its multicausality in each person varies according to distinct factors such as diet, physical exercise, substance use, circadian cycles, genetic and emotional aspects, among others. It is possible that personality is a precipitating or protective resource against cardiac disease. Objective: To identify the relation between personality factors and physiological variations in blood pressure and heart rate in the face of emotional stimuli and motors. Method: Exploratory study with an ABA intrasubject design in healthy young adults for heart disease. At baseline A, the sociodemographic data questionnaire, the Big Five, blood pressure and heart rate were recorded. In phase B, the emotional and motor stimuli were applied, and heart rate and blood pressure were also recorded. In the next A phase, the heart rate and blood pressure were recorded in resting. Results: On average, the blood pressure of men was higher than in women with measurements of 124/72 mmHg compared to 113/66 mmHg. There are negative correlations between blood pressure with personality factors such as neuroticism and consciousness with values of r = −0.198 and r = −0.254 (p < 0.05), respectively. Conclusions: This study provides empirical evidence in the analysis of the relationship between gender and personality. It is likely that being a man and the factors of neuroticism and conscientiousness with high blood pressure are relevant indicators for the design of prevention programs, enabling the inclusion of personality as a variable related to the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases.

Diálisis peritoneal en tiempos difíciles / There´s no place like home. Peritoneal Dialysis in hard times. What haven´t we understood?

Resumen La diálisis peritoneal es una terapia igual o superior a la hemodiálisis, que además es costo-efectiva y ha permitido el soporte dialítico vital a poblaciones víctimas de desastres naturales. En las actuales circunstancias de pandemia y aislamiento social a causa de la COVID-19, este procedimiento, al ser una terapia domiciliaria, reduce los riesgos de exposición para pacientes, cuidadores y equipos de atención; no obstante, sigue siendo una terapia subutilizada a nivel global. Al mostrar los beneficios de la diálisis peritoneal sobre la hemodiálisis y sus desenlaces en tiempos de desastre, se evidencia que esta es la mejor alternativa en la actual pandemia. En la presente investigación se llevó a cabo una revisión no sistemática de la literatura con el fin de mostrar los beneficios de la diálisis peritoneal sobre la hemodiálisis, así como sus desenlaces en situaciones de calamidad. Se incluyeron 75 artículos publicados entre enero de 1993 y marzo del 2020 que muestran mayores beneficios de la diálisis peritoneal respecto a la hemodiálisis y confirman que la primera es la mejor alternativa en situaciones de desastre debido a que presenta una mayor supervivencia, especialmente en los dos primeros años, y una menor velocidad en la tasa de perdida de la función renal residual; además, permite preservar los accesos vasculares, registra mayor supervivencia postrasplante, es más económica y en situaciones de desastres naturales facilita la continuidad de la atención y el soporte dialítico agudo o crónico para las víctimas.

Abstract Peritoneal Dialysis is a therapy equal to or superior to hemodialysis, it is cost-effective and has allowed vital dialysis support to populations that have been victims of natural disasters. In the current circumstances of pandemic and social isolation because of COVID 19, peritoneal dialysis, being a home therapy, reduces the risks of exposure for patients, caregivers, and care teams, however, it is a globally underused therapy. We would like to show the benefits of peritoneal dialysis over hemodialysis and its outcomes in times of disaster, presenting it as the best alternative even in times of pandemic. A non-systematic review of the literature was done, looking for the benefits of peritoneal dialysis vs. hemodialysis and its outcomes in calamity situations. Here we included 75 articles that were published between 1993 and March 2020 were included. These studies show the multiple benefits of peritoneal dialysis over hemodialysis and being the best alternative in disaster situations. So we conclude that peritoneal dialysis has significant benefits over hemodialysis, among these is a greater probability of survival, particularly in the first two years, a lower speed in the rate of loss of residual renal function, allows to preserve vascular accesses, there is greater possibility of post-transplant survival. In addition to being more economical and in situations of natural disasters, such as this pandemic, it has facilitated the continuity of care and acute or chronic dialysis support for victims.

Hiperamonemia como causa de diálisis no renal / Hyperammonemia as a cause of non-renal dialysis

Resumen La hiperamonemia es una condición frecuente en pacientes cirróticos y en el contexto de una causa no cirrótica se relaciona con aumento en la producción de amonio o alteración en su eliminación. La presentación clínica de esta condición es inespecífica: va desde alteración del comportamiento hasta estado de coma, siendo una de las causas de diálisis no renal por determinados valores o refractariedad a manejo médico. Se presenta el caso de una mujer de 35 años, quien ingresó al servicio de urgencias con alteración del estado de conciencia, niveles de amonio elevados y masa hipervascular en hígado. Los estudios de aminoácidos limitantes del ciclo de la urea y ácido orótico urinario fueron normales y la biopsia de la lesión hepática reportó carcinoma hepático fibrolamelar, al cual se atribuyó la presencia de shunt portosistémico que causaba la hiperamonemia. Se indicó diálisis por persistencia de elevaciones de amonio y poca respuesta al tratamiento médico. Dada la evolución de la paciente, fue necesario reiniciar la terapia reemplazo renal por reaparición de estado encefalopático al suspender la misma. Esta terapia se mantuvo hasta el trasplante hepático que se realizó como tratamiento del carcinoma, con posterior estabilización de niveles de amonio y suspensión de la diálisis.

Abstract Hyperammonemia is a common condition in cirrhotic patients. In the context of a non-cirrhotic cause, this is related to the increase in its production of ammonium or alteration in its elimination. The clinical presentation is nonspecific, from the alteration of the behavior to the coma, being one of the causes of non-renal dialysis due to certain values or refractoriness to medical management. The case of a 35-year-old woman is presented, who is admitted to the emergency department with altered state of consciousness, elevated ammonium levels and hypervascular mass in the liver. Biopsy of the liver lesion reports fibrolamellar liver carcinoma. The presence of a portosystemic shunt that causes hyperammonemia is attributed to this pathology. Dialysis is indicated by persistence of ammonium elevations with little response to medical treatment. In its evolution, it required a restart of renal replacement due to a reappearance of the encephalopathic state when it was suspended. This therapy is maintained until liver transplantation performed as a carcinoma treatment, with subsequent stabilization of ammonium levels and dialysis suspension.

Development and validation of quick Acute Kidney Injury-score (q-AKI) to predict acute kidney injury at admission to a multidisciplinary intensive care unit.

AKI is associated with increased risk of death, prolonged length of stay and development of de-novo chronic kidney disease. The aim of our study is the development and validation of prediction models to identify the risk of AKI in ICU patients up to 7 days. We retrospectively recruited 692 consecutive patients admitted to the ICU at San Bortolo Hospital (Vicenza, Italy) from 1 June 2016 to 31 March 2017: 455 patients were treated as the derivation group and 237 as the validation group. Candidate variables were selected based on a literature review and expert opinion. Admission eGFR< 90 ml/min /1.73 mq (OR 2.78; 95% CI 1.78-4.35; p<0.001); SOFAcv ≥ 2 (OR 2.23; 95% CI 1.48-3.37; p<0.001); lactate ≥ 2 mmol/L (OR 1.81; 95% CI 1.19-2.74; p = 0.005) and (TIMP-2)•(IGFBP7) ≥ 0.3 (OR 1.65; 95% CI 1.08-2.52; p = 0.019) were significantly associated with AKI. For the q-AKI score, we stratified patients into different AKI Risk score levels: 0-2; 3-4; 5-6; 7-8 and 9-10. In both cohorts, we observed that the proportion of AKI patients was higher in the higher score levels.

Discontinuation of Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy and Dialysis Dependence.

Renal replacement therapy (RRT) is a form of extracorporeal support for critical patients, especially for those with acute kidney injury. This therapy enables to gain adequate control over the great metabolic and fluids demand when kidneys are not able to do so; this condition is habitually present in patients who are admitted to intensive care units. However, it is also clear that these patients present a higher mortality rate and, in some cases, complications associated with the therapy. Therefore, it is fundamental to optimize and customize different aspects of RRT that range from the ideal timing including the modality and the dose until its suspension or ending. There currently is a great deal of controversy in all of these RRT-related topics. Although different predictive models have been proposed to determine the optimal timing of therapy discontinuation, nowadays urine output, serum and urine creatinine levels are perhaps the only variables associated with effective discontinuation. Future studies should focus on more accurately predicting renal recovery. This review provides an approach based on current evidence regarding effective discontinuation.

Blue Planet dialysis: novel water-sparing strategies for reducing dialysate flow.

INTRODUCTION: Hemodialysis (HD) is an expensive therapy in economic and in ecological terms, owing to a high carbon footprint and significant consumption of natural sources, especially water. Our aim was to review strategies to diminish waste of water in maintenance dialysis, exploring previously described water reuse trends and less known strategies for reducing the dialysate flow. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of water-sparing strategies, including the reuse of reverse osmosis rejected water and the reduction of dialysate flux. We performed a search in Medline, Pubmed, Scielo, OVID and Biblioteca Redentor, using key words: Dialysate flow rate, Dialysate flux, and decrease; excluding: online, peritoneal, continuous, blood access, needle, hemodiafiltration, acute, pharmacokinetics, increase. We limited our search to adult humans or in vitro trials in English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, between January 1980 and June 2017. We found 816 trials. 37 articles were retrieved for review, and 11 articles were analyzed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Conservation of water in chronic HD should be considered an important responsibility of healthcare practitioners all over the world. We present a wider usage of dialysate flow rates, considering that it would lead to significant water conservation without much compromise on dialysis efficacy in small patients. We believe that further investigation into the utility of reduced dialysate flux in different populations is needed to broaden our understanding of how we can use these techniques in order to significantly reduce water consumption during chronic HD while still ensuring optimum efficacy and efficiency of the therapy.

EDUCACIÓN EN DIÁLISIS PERITONEAL CRÓNICA EN LOS PROGRAMAS DE POSGRADO DE NEFROLOGÍA EN LATINOAMÉRICA / Chronic peritoneal dialysis training in Latin American Nephrology Post graduate programs

Introducción: Diversos factores pueden influir en la preferencia del uso de hemodiálisis crónica (HDC) sobre diálisis peritoneal crónica (DPC) como terapia de enfermedad renal crónica en pacientes estado 5 en programas de diálisis crónica (ERC5D) en diversos países del mundo. Objetivos: Determinar si la falta de educación adecuada y suficiente en DPC en algunos programas de postgrado de nefrología, es la causa principal por la cual los nefrólogos prefieren utilizar HDC, la terapia mejor conocida. Material y Métodos: Se analizó el programa de entrenamiento en DPC que reciben los estudiantes de postgrado de nefrología en diversos países de Centro y Suramérica. La información se obtuvo con base en la respuesta a una encuesta que se envió a uno o más nefrólogos de cada país, entre febrero 1 y julio 31 de 2011, dirigida a quienes trabajan en el medio académico y conocen, dirigen o pertenecen a programas de postgrado de nefrología. Resultados: 114 programas de postgrado de Nefrología existen en Latinoamérica en la actualidad. Se encuentra una clara variedad en el periodo de entrenamiento en diálisis peritoneal crónica, de acuerdo con cada programa y en cada país. El volumen de pacientes en diálisis peritoneal crónica varía entre 25 y más de 280, con lo cual es claro que el entrenamiento y la experiencia adquirida en el manejo de pacientes con DPC es diferente. Discusión: El entrenamiento insuficiente en DPC podría traer como consecuencia que el nefrólogo al momento de escoger una terapia se decida por la mejor conocida, y esta podría ser una de las razones por la cual la DPC sea menos utilizada en muchas partes del mundo. La unificación de programas de entrenamiento podría favorecer un mayor conocimiento de la terapia, pudiéndose utilizar así en forma más balanceada.

Introduction: Several factors may influence the preferential use of chronic hemodialysis (CHD) over chronic peritoneal dialysis (CKD) as a therapy for stage 5 chronic kidney disease patients in chronic dialysis (5DCKD) programs in several countries around the world. Objectives: To determine if a lack of adequate chronic peritoneal dialysis (CPD) education in some nephrology postgraduate programs is the main reason why nephrologists prefer to use HDC, the best known therapy. Material and Methods: We analyzed the CPD training program received by nephrology postgraduate students in several countries of Central and South America. The obtained information was based on a survey that was sent to one or more nephrologists from each country between February 1 and July 31, 2011, addressed to those who work in the academic environment and who know, direct or belong to nephrology postgraduate programs. Results: 114 postgraduate nephrology programs exist in Latin America today. A clear variation is found in CPD training period, according to each program and country. The volume of patients on CPD varies from 25 to more than 280, thus making clear that training and experience gained in care of patients with CPD is unbalanced. Discussion: Insufficient DPC training may end-up in nephrologists choosing the best known therapy, being this way one of the reasons why DPC is less often used in many parts of the world. Unification of training programs could favor a better knowledge of this therapy, being then able to use it in a more balanced way.