Renal arterial resistive index versus novel biomarkers for the early prediction of sepsis-associated acute kidney injury.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a critical complication of sepsis. There is a continuous need to identify and validate biomarkers for early detection. Serum and urinary biomarkers have been investigated, such as neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) and cystatin C (Cys C), but their reliability in the intensive care unit (ICU) remains unknown. Renal hemodynamics can be investigated by measuring the renal resistive index (RRI). This study aimed to compare the performance of RRI, serum NGAL (sNGAL), urinary NGAL (uNGAL), and serum Cys C levels as early predictors of the diagnosis and persistence of sepsis-associated AKI. A total of 166 adult patients with sepsis syndrome were enrolled immediately after ICU admission. Biomarkers were measured directly (T1) and on day 3 (T3). RRI was measured directly (T1) and 24 h later (T2). Patients were categorized (according to the occurrence and persistence of AKI within the first 7 days) into three groups: no AKI, transient AKI, and persistent AKI. The incidence rate of sepsis-associated AKI was 60.2%. Sixty-six patients were categorized as in the no AKI group, while another 61 were in transient AKI and only 39 were in persistent AKI. The RRI value (T1 ≥ 0.72) was the best tool for predicting AKI diagnosis (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, AUROC = 0.905). Cys C (T1 ≥ 15.1 mg/l) was the best tool to predict the persistence of AKI (AUROC = 0.977). RRI (T1) was the best predictive tool for sepsis-associated AKI, while Cys C was the best predictor of its persistence and 28-day mortality.

Effect of amlodipine versus bisoprolol in hypertensive patients on maintenance hemodialysis: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular hypertrophy and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) are surrogate markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the dialysis population. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a calcium channel blocker-based antihypertensive regimen compared to a beta-blocker-based antihypertensive regimen on left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and ADMA levels in hypertensive patients on hemodialysis (HD). METHODS: This was a parallel-design, open-label, single-center randomized controlled trial on 46 hypertensive patients on maintenance HD, with no history of CVD. Patients were randomly assigned to receive amlodipine 10 mg/d (n = 23) or bisoprolol 10 mg/d (n = 23). Office-based blood pressure (BP) was targeted to ≤ 140/ 90 mm Hg. The outcome was the change in LVMI and ADMA from baseline to 6 months. RESULTS: Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics did not vary between groups. After 6 months of treatment, amlodipine-based therapy induced a greater reduction in LVMI from baseline than bisoprolol-based treatment (35 ±â€Š34.2 vs 9.8 ±â€Š35.9 gm/m2; P = .017). A similar reduction in the mean BP occurred with treatment in both groups. ADMA concentration decreased significantly from baseline in the amlodipine group (0.75 ±â€Š0.73 to 0.65 ±â€Š0.67 nmol/mL; P = .001), but increased nonsignificantly in the bisoprolol group (0.64 ±â€Š0.61 to 0.78 ±â€Š0.64 nmol/mL; P = .052). CONCLUSION: This study showed that compared to a bisoprolol-based regimen, an amlodipine-based antihypertensive regimen resulted in a significantly greater reduction in LVMI and ADMA levels from baseline in hypertensive patients on HD despite similar BP reduction in both groups. These findings support the re-evaluation of amlodipine as a potential first-line antihypertensive treatment in patients on HD without previous CVD. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT04085562, registered September 2019.