Increase of continuous treatments and regional citrate anticoagulation during renal replacement therapy in the ICUs of the North-West of Italy from 2007 to 2015.

BACKGROUND: Few reports have addressed the change in renal replacement therapy (RRT) management in the Intensive care Units (ICUs) over the years in western countries. This study aims to assess the trend of dialytic practice in a 4.5-million population-based study of the northwest of Italy. METHODS: A nine-year survey covering all the RRT provided in the ICUs. Consultant nephrologists of the 26 Nephrology and Dialysis centers reported their activities in the years 2007, 2009, 2012, and 2015. RESULTS: From 2007 to 2015 the patients treated increased from 1042 to 1139, and the incidence of RRT from 254 to 263 cases/10^6 inhabitants. The workload for dialysis center was higher in the larger hub hospitals. RRT for acute kidney injury (AKI), continuation of treatment in chronically dialyzed patients, or extrarenal indications accounted for about the stable rate of 70, 25 and 5% of all RRT sessions, respectively. Continuous modality days increased from 2731 days (39.5%) in 2007 to 5076 (70.6%) in 2015, when the continuous+prolonged treatment days were 6880/7196 (95.6% of total days). As to RRT timing, in 2015 only the classical clinical criteria, and no K-DIGO stage were adopted by most Centers. As to RRT interruption, in 2015 urine volume was the first criterion. Implementation of citrate anticoagulation (RCA) for RRT patients significantly increased from 2.8% in 2007 to 30.9% in 2015, when it was applied in all 26 Centers. CONCLUSIONS: From 2007 to 2015, current practice has changed towards shared protocols, with increasing continuous modality and RCA implementation.

[Preliminary report on the Covid-19 outbreak in Valle d'Aosta dialysis centers].

Valle d'Aosta, Italy's smallest region, faced a Covid-19 epidemic trend of absolute relevance. In line with data concerning the local general population, the predominance of the illness among uremic patients has been high. The authors report here preliminary data on the spread of this disease within the region and on the clinical trend of the infected patients who needed to be hospitalised.

[Monocentric experience of left atrial appendage occlusion among patients with advanced chronic kidney disease and non-valvular atrial fibrillation].

Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac disorder among chronic nephropathic patients. Possible therapeutic approaches include the use of anticoagulants, which are able to reduce the risk of thromboembolism but lead to an increasing bleeding risk, especially in this cohort of patients. Also, novel oral anticoagulant agents (NAO), due to their mainly renal clearance, are a relative contraindication in advanced renal disease. As an alternative to the oral anticoagulant therapy, left atrial appendage occlusion seems a promising opportunity in high risk, difficult to manage patients. Since there is limited evidence of LAAO in advanced chronic renal disease or dialysis patients, we report here a monocenter experience on 12 patients (6 of which in regular dialytic treatment) with a median clinical follow-up of fourteen months (3-22 months).

[Monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis: a complex relationship with promising therapeutic opportunities].

In the last few years, the increasing awareness of the complex interaction between monoclonal component and renal damage has determined not only a new classification of the associated disorders, called Monoclonal Gammopathy of Renal Significance (MGRS), but has also contributed to emphasize the importance of an early diagnosis of the renal involvement, which is often hard to detect but can evolve towards terminal uraemia; it has also pointed at the need to treat these disorders with aggressive regimens, even if they are not strictly neoplastic. The case described here presented urinary abnormalities and renal failure secondary to a membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN), with intensively positive immunofluorescence (IF) for monoclonal k light chain and C3, and in the absence of a neoplastic lympho-proliferative disorder documented on bone marrow biopsy. After the final diagnosis of MGRS, the patient was treated with several cycles of a therapy including dexamethasone, cyclophosphamide and bortezomib, showing a good functional and clinical response.

[Severe multifactorial hyponatremia]. / Severa iponatremia a genesi multifattoriale.

Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte disorder observed in hospitalized patients. The most severe forms are neurological and potentially fatal emergencies; yet increased morbidity, length of hospital stay and costs associated with less severe forms are aspects of major concern. Nephrologists are frequently consulted regarding the therapeutic management and the key pathophysiological issues of hyponatremia, as this latter aspect represents a true challenge in an emergency setting. We report a case of a woman admitted to the emergency room for gait instability caused by a very severe multifactorial hyponatremia with a favourable clinical outcome.

[An unusual case of acute aminophylline intoxication]. / Un caso inusuale di intossicazione acuta da aminofillina.

Theophylline/aminophylline use for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has declined over time, as new and safer therapies developed. However, theophylline/aminophylline overdose can occur. Hereby it is described an unusual case of severe aminophylline intoxication due to mesodermic injections treated with CVVHDF session.

[Metformin- related lactic acidosis]. / Severa acidosi lattica associata all'assunzione di metformina in due pazienti ultraottantenni a decorso clinico favorevole.

Lactic acidosis metformin-related is a potentially fatal complication. Reviews show a stable prevalence of this phenomenon, but nephrological experience is required since it is frequently involved in therapeutic management. Here we report the cases of two old patients with severe lactic acidosis and acute renal failure treated with hemodiafiltration.

Self-reported physical activity in patients on chronic hemodialysis: correlates and barriers.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The knowledge of the barriers that are associated with decreased physical activity (PA) in patients on chronic hemodialysis (PCH) may be of primary importance for the nephrologists. Thus, we aimed to assess the barriers associated with the absent or reduced PA in PCH of a Mediterranean country. METHODS: Patients were invited to answer the question 'How often do you exercise during your leisure time?'. Also, patients included in the study were asked to answer questions regarding barriers to physical activity lower than desired. RESULTS: We studied 105 patients. Forty (38.1%) patients reported to never exercise, 6 (5.7%) reported to exercise less than once/week, 4 (3.8%) once/week, 23 (21.9%) two to three times/week, 12 (11.4%) four to five times/week and 20 (19%) daily. Overall, 46 (43.8%) patients never exercised or exercised less than once/week ('inactive') and 59 (56.2%) did exercise more often ('active'). At the multivariate analysis, reduced walking ability, fatigue on the non-dialysis days, and shortness of breath were independently and negatively associated with PA. The same results were found when the reduced model of the multivariate logistic backward regression was built introducing in the model also clinical and laboratory variables. CONCLUSION: In PCH, fatigue on the non-dialysis days, reduced walking ability, and shortness of breath are barriers independently associated to decreased PA. Knowledge about the causes and mechanisms that generate these barriers has to be acquired.

Clinical risk analysis with failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) model in a dialysis unit.

BACKGROUND: The aim of clinical risk management is to improve the quality of care provided by health care organizations and to assure patients' safety. Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) is a tool employed for clinical risk reduction. We applied FMEA to chronic hemodialysis outpatients. METHODS: FMEA steps: (i) process study: we recorded phases and activities. (ii) Hazard analysis: we listed activity-related failure modes and their effects; described control measures; assigned severity, occurrence and detection scores for each failure mode and calculated the risk priority numbers (RPNs) by multiplying the 3 scores. Total RPN is calculated by adding single failure mode RPN. (iii) Planning: we performed a RPNs prioritization on a priority matrix taking into account the 3 scores, and we analyzed failure modes causes, made recommendations and planned new control measures. (iv) Monitoring: after failure mode elimination or reduction, we compared the resulting RPN with the previous one. RESULTS: Our failure modes with the highest RPN came from communication and organization problems. Two tools have been created to ameliorate information flow: "dialysis agenda" software and nursing datasheets. We scheduled nephrological examinations, and we changed both medical and nursing organization. Total RPN value decreased from 892 to 815 (8.6%) after reorganization. CONCLUSIONS: Employing FMEA, we worked on a few critical activities, and we reduced patients' clinical risk. A priority matrix also takes into account the weight of the control measures: we believe this evaluation is quick, because of simple priority selection, and that it decreases action times.

Comparison of glucose pump test and urea test in measuring blood access flow.

BACKGROUND: The Glucose Pump Test (GPT) is a new method for measuring the access blood flow (Qa) based on a constant glucose infusion (Qi), with known glucose concentration (Ci), in the arterial needle and on glucose determination in two blood samples from the venous needle, the first (C1) in basal conditions, the second (C2) during the infusion. Qa depends on the difference in glucose between the two samples and is computed from the formula: QaGPT = Qi x (Ci-C2)/(C2-C1). METHODS: The new method, previously evaluated by ultrasound dilution and color-Doppler techniques, was compared with the Urea Test (UT) in 20 patients measuring recirculation (R) during reversal of the arterial and venous needles (QaUT = Qb x (1/R -1)). All Qa determinations were done twice by both methods. Glucose and urea were determined respectively two and three times. RESULTS: Mean QaGPT = 841, SD 347 ml/min, mean QaUT = 872, SD 417 ml/min (p = n.s.); mean percent difference QaGPT-QaUT= 16%, SD 14; mean coefficients of variation of paired determinations: 8.1% and 12.1% respectively; Pearson coefficient between the two methods: r= 0.91. CONCLUSIONS: The comparison showed a good correlation between the two methods and similar mean values. The coefficient of variation of the new method was acceptable and lower than with the UT. The GPT is a reliable technique for measuring blood flow in vascular accesses.

Basiliximab in association with tacrolimus and steroids in caucasian cadaveric renal transplanted patients: significant decrease in early acute rejection rate and hospitalization time.

Safety and tolerability of basiliximab in renal transplantation have been proven in different immunosuppressive regimens. Few informations are available about the association of basiliximab with tacrolimus and steroids. We present a retrospective analysis performed in Caucasian cadaveric renal transplant recipients, comparing a basiliximab, tacrolimus and steroids induction protocol (GrA: 51 patients) with a tacrolimus and steroids protocol (GrB: 46 patients). A significant decrease in acute rejection rate in the first 3 months (2.0% vs. 17.4%; p < 0.01) was noted. Interestingly, the recipients in GrA were at major immunologic risk for the younger age of recipients, the greater number of mismatches and the higher rate of second transplants. The hospitalization times resulted reduced of 5.3 d in GrA vs. GrB (20.8 d vs. 26.1 d; p < 0.05). The adverse events patterns and profiles were similar in the two treatments groups. One patient in each group had a post-transplant lymphoprolipherative disorder. No significant difference was found in patient and graft survival. According to the results of this study, in a Caucasian adult population, basiliximab in association with tacrolimus and steroids is a safe and efficacious tool for acute rejection prevention and it is cost saving by reducing the hospitalization times.