Association of abnormalities in electrocardiography and ultrasonic echocardiography with the occurrence of cardiovascular disease in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: In patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) increases with disease progression. CVD screening tests in those with CKD were researched to determine whether abnormalities observed in electrocardiography (ECG) and ultrasonic echocardiography (UCG) were risk factors associated with the development of CVD. METHODS: This study included 604 patients with CKD G4 and G5, for whom both ECG and UCG were performed. They were divided into four groups: those without ECG- and UCG-indicated abnormalities (group A, n = 333), with only ECG abnormalities (group B, n = 106), with only UCG abnormalities (group C, n = 75), and with both ECG and UCG abnormalities (group D, n = 90). Multivariate analysis using Cox regression analysis of the occurrence of CVD was performed during a follow-up period. RESULTS: During the observation period, 124 patients had clinical events. Among them, 45 patients (13.5%) were in Group A, 25 patients (23.6%) in Group B, 19 patients (25.3%) in Group C, and 35 patients (38.9%) in Group D, respectively. CVD event occurrence was highest in Group D. The results of the multivariate analysis also showed that the CVD event rates were significantly higher in Group C (HR: 2.96, P = < .001) and D (HR: 4.22, P < .001) than in Group A. CONCLUSION: In patients with advanced CKD, there was a significant correlation of ECG and UCG abnormalities with CVD events. Additionally, those having both types of abnormalities may have a higher risk of coronary artery disease than other groups.

Comparison of two protocols for steroid pulse therapy in patients with IgA nephropathy: a retrospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Steroid pulse (SP) therapy is one of the immunosuppressive therapies for immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). Although there are various protocols of SP therapy in IgAN, the intermittent SP (ISP) and consecutive SP (CSP) protocols are prevalently performed in clinical settings. However, there is a lack of evidence of comparisons of the effects on IgAN between these two protocols. METHODS: A total of 189 patients with IgAN who had received SP therapy were included in this study. They were divided into two groups according to the SP protocols into the intermittent SP (ISP) or consecutive SP (CSP) group as follows: ISP; three-times SP therapy in alternate months, CSP; three-times SP therapy in three consecutive weeks. Kidney function, remission of urinary findings, and side effects of SP therapy were compared between the two groups. The observational period was 12 months after the initiation of SP therapy. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in kidney function between the two groups during the observational period. The remission rate of proteinuria and hematuria at 12 months also did not significantly differ between the two groups. Furthermore, even after the adjustment of clinical characteristics using propensity score matching, the remission rate of proteinuria and hematuria at 12 months was similar between the two groups. At 2 months, the remission rate of proteinuria was significantly higher in the CSP group than in the ISP group. There were no critical side effects in both groups. CONCLUSION: The effects of SP therapy on IgAN were similar between the ISP and CSP group at 12 months although CSP therapy could remit proteinuria faster than ISP therapy.

Changes in blood pressure during treatment with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor lenvatinib.

BACKGROUND: Within the class of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), which are used for the treatment of numerous advanced cancers, lenvatinib is associated with a higher prevalence of hypertension (HT) compared with other TKIs. In this study, we investigated the effect of lenvatinib on blood pressure (BP) and associated factors. METHODS: This single-centre, retrospective observational study included 25 consecutive patients treated with lenvatinib for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma from April 2018 to December 2018 at the study institution. We assessed changes in BP using ambulatory BP monitoring, urinary sodium excretion, kidney function, use of antihypertensive agents and diuretics, and fluid retention following treatment initiation with lenvatinib. RESULTS: At 1 week after treatment initiation, the mean BP and the percentage of patients with riser pattern significantly increased compared with those at the baseline. Although there were no significant changes at 1 week, urinary sodium excretion (153.4 ± 51.7 and 112.5 ± 65.0 mEq/day at 1 and 3 weeks, respectively, P < 0.05) and estimated glomerular filtration rate significantly decreased and the number of patients with fluid retention increased at 3 weeks. Furthermore, patients with fluid retention had significantly higher BP or required more intensive BP treatment compared with those without fluid retention. CONCLUSIONS: Lenvatinib might lead to HT without fluid retention soon after the initiation of treatment, subsequently leading to a reduction in urinary sodium excretion, thereby contributing to a rise in BP by fluid retention.