Long term simulation analysis of deceased donor initiated chains in kidney exchange programs.

Kidney exchange programs (KEPs) aim to find compatible kidneys for recipients with incompatible donors. Patients without a living donor depend upon deceased donor (DD) donations to get a kidney transplant. In India, a ©DD donates kidneys directly to a©DD wait-list. The idea of initiating an exchange chain starting from a ©DD kidney is proposed in a few articles (and executed in Italy in 2018), but no mathematical formulation has been given for this merger. We have introduced an integer programming formulation that creates ©DD-initiated chains, considering both paired exchange registry and ©DD allocations simultaneously and addressing the overlap issue between the exchange registry and ©DD wait-list as recipients can register for both registries independently. A long-term simulation study is done to ©analyse the gain of these DD-initiated chains over time. It suggests that even with small numbers of ©DDs, these chains can significantly increase potential transplants.

Targeting Predialysis Glucose up to 180 mg/dl Reduces Glycemic Variability in End Stage Diabetic Nephropathy.

Context: Glycemic variability plays a major role in the development as well as the progression of cardiovascular disease in diabetes. Aims: We compared the mean plasma glucose and glycemic variability (GV) parameters on and off hemodialysis (HD) in patients with End-Stage Diabetic Nephropathy (ESDN) and End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). Settings and Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods and Material: We included 23 ESDN and 6 ESRD patients who underwent continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) (iPro2) for 6 days and a glucose-free dialysate for 4 hours thrice weekly. EasyGV software was used to calculate the variability parameters {mean glucose, Time in range (TIR), Time above and below range (TAR/TBR), CV (Coefficient of Variation) and MAGE}. Statistical Analysis Used: The quantitative data variables were expressed by using mean and SD. Unpaired t-test was used to compare the two groups. P value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: In the ESDN group, TIR was significantly lower whereas TAR and TBR were significantly higher on HD day. MAGE (101.88 ± 40.5 v/s 89.46 ± 30.0, P < 0.007) and CV (29.41% v/s 21.67%) were higher on HD day. Subjects with pre-HD glucose values ≥180 mg/dl (Group B, n = 24) had a rapid drop with a delayed higher rise in glucose values than those with pre-HD glucose values <180 mg/dl (Group A, n = 27). Ten patients had 13 episodes of hypoglycemia. The CGM parameters were not different in the ESRD group. Conclusions: Targeting a pre- HD glucose value <180 mg/dl could be a good strategy to prevent larger fluctuation during and post HD.

From Infection to Immunity - Impact of COVID-19 Across Nine Hemodialysis Centres in Mumbai.

INTRODUCTION: There are several studies of symptomatic hemodialysis patients with proven COVID-19 infection. However, there is paucity of data on asymptomatic COVID-19 infection in the outpatient hemodialysis population. The true prevalence and transmission of this infection in hemodialysis centres is unknown. This study was conducted across hemodialysis centers by testing all patients and staff for COVID-19 PCR and later for IgG antibody, irrespective of their symptoms. METHODS: All 705 hemodialysis patients and 103 dialysis staff across nine centres, were tested for COVID-19 over a period of 54 days of the pandemic, and for COVID IgG antibody of available enrolled staff and patients, after 8 weeks of study termination. RESULTS: The period prevalence of infection in patients and staff was 7.1% and 14.6% respectively. Mortality in patients was 18%, and all staff recovered. Clustering of patients and staff occurred at 3 of 9 centers. Of 26 HIV positive patients, only one contracted the COVID-19 infection and has recovered. Of those infected, seroconversion occurred in 80% of patients and 83% of staff. Seroconversion also occurred in 16% of patients and 37% of staff, who were asymptomatic and COVID PCR negative during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Testing a patient only when symptomatic, identified only 26% (13/50) of infected patients. For every single symptomatic patient who tested positive, there were 3 other asymptomatic infected ones. There was a high seroconversion rates in infected subjects. But antibodies also developed in asymptomatic subjects, indicating silent transmission and antibody generation in this population.

Epidemic of Chemical Peritonitis in Patients on Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis: A Report from Western India.

While non-infectious etiologies like chemical irritants are rare causes of epidemics of peritonitis, this possibility should be considered when one encounters an unusual clustering of peritonitis cases. We describe here an epidemic of chemical peritonitis at our center.