American Journal of Nephrology

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a global pandemic which continues to cause systemic inflammation leading to multi-system organ damage including acute kidney injury (AKI) and thrombotic complications. We hypothesize that D-dimer level predicts an increased risk of acute kidney injury and thrombotic complications in COVID-19. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study performed at a single center academic center. Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 between Jan 1, 2020 through Jan 1, 2021 were included in the analysis...

INTRODUCTION: Chronic kidney disease is estimated to become the fifth leading cause of death globally by 2040. Due to the high incidence of fatigue in patients with end-stage renal disease without reliable pharmacological treatments, more and more studies on non-pharmacological interventions to improve physical function appear, which might be the best approach, unknown. This study aims to compare and rank the efficacy of all known non-pharmacological interventions on improving physical function from multiple outcomes for adults with end-stage renal disease...

Background Diabetes mellitus and hypertension are the leading causes of cardiovascular disease in renal transplant recipients. This review looks at the potential role of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) and reviews the management strategies for hypertension in this population. Summary Large-scale clinical trials are needed to study the potential cardiorenal benefits and risks of complications in renal transplant recipients. Future clinical trials are also needed to define optimal blood pressure treatment goals and therapies and how they influence graft and patient survival...

INTRODUCTION: Vascular access usage varies widely across countries. Previous studies have evaluated the association of clinical outcomes with the three types of vascular access, namely arteriovenous fistula (AVF), arteriovenous graft (AVG), and tunneled and cuffed central venous catheter (TC-CVC). However, little is known regarding the association between arterial superficialization (AS) and the mortality of patients. METHODS: A nationwide cohort study was conducted using data from the Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy Renal Data Registry (2006-2007)...

OBJECTIVE: Hypertriglyceridemia, a component of the metabolic syndrome, is a known independent predictor of albuminuria and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the general population. Previous studies have shown that the relationship of triglycerides with outcomes changes across stages of CKD. Our objective is to examine the association of triglycerides independent of other metabolic syndrome components with renal outcomes in diabetic patients with or without CKD. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included diabetic US veteran patients with valid data on triglycerides (TG), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and albuminuria (UACR), between fiscal years 2004 to 2006...

INTRODUCTION: Although high dose erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) has been shown to increase mortality risk and adverse cardiovascular events in hemodialysis patients, the safety of extremely low dose ESA is unclear. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the association between ESA dose and mortality in the monthly dosing range of 0-43,000 U of equivalent epoetin alpha in 304 Taiwan hemodialysis patients by using Cox proportional hazard model and cubic spline model...

INTRODUCTION: This study describes patient characteristics and examines graft function of kidney transplant recipients (without primary hyperoxaluria) with elevated plasma oxalate (POx) and enteric risk factors prior to transplant at our institution. METHODS: Kidney transplant recipients between 2012 to 2020 with elevated POx at the time of kidney transplant evaluation were included. A matched control cohort was gathered using patient/donor age, living/deceased donor type, panel reactive antibody (PRA), kidney donor profile index (KDPI), and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatch as matching variables...

INTRODUCTION: The clinical significance of persistent hematuria degrees hasn't been expounded in primary IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and requires further research. METHODS: From January 2003 to May 2022, a total of 684 IgAN patients with persistent hematuria were enrolled to conduct a retrospective single-center study. Patients whose hematuria degree at baseline was higher than the second tertiles of the whole were included in the high-degree hematuria cohort (Hh), and the low-degree hematuria cohort (Lh) was constructed with 1:1 matched cases from the rest according to age, gender, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at baseline and follow-up time...

INTRODUCTION: In the AWARD-7 study in patients with type 2 diabetes and moderate-to-severe chronic kidney disease, once-weekly dulaglutide slowed the decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and decreased the urine albumin/creatinine ratio compared to insulin glargine at the end of 52 weeks of treatment. In this exploratory post hoc analysis, changes in two fibrosis biomarkers, serum PRO-C6 (type VI collagen formation) and urine C3M (type III collagen degradation) were evaluated...

INTRODUCTION: Hyporesponsiveness to erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) affects 10-15% of the chronic dialysis population. We explored baseline characteristics and predictors of ESA hyporesponsiveness in a global randomized cardiovascular outcomes study comparing an investigational hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor (HIF-PHI), daprodustat, with conventional ESA treatment. METHODS: ASCEND-D (NCT02879305) recruited 2964 chronic dialysis patients receiving ESA treatment (standardized to weekly intravenous [IV] epoetin) who were iron replete at baseline...

BACKGROUND: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a common disorder with multiple serious clinical implications, including an increased risk of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), cardiovascular complications, heart failure, onset or worsening of hypertension, and premature death. Patients with DKD frequently require dialysis or kidney transplantation to manage their ESKD. SUMMARY: Upregulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system is an important contributor to kidney disease progression, as highlighted by the results of trials evaluating angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers in patients with albuminuria...

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BACKGROUND: Salt sensitivity of blood pressure (SSBP) is a trait observed in both humans and animals, characterized by an increase in blood pressure (BP) following salt loading or a drop in BP following salt depletion. SUMMARY: This "intermediate" phenotype has been reported in a sizable portion of individuals regardless of their hypertensive status; hypertensives (27-51%), normotensives (18-47%). Further, in epidemiological studies, this phenotype is associated with increased adverse cardiovascular outcomes, risk factors, and reduced survival rates...

INTRODUCTION: Sclerostin is an osteocyte-derived inhibitor of bone formation and is increased in kidney failure. Sclerostin might be involved in the pathogenesis of vascular calcification, but few studies have examined the association between sclerostin and mortality in hemodialysis patients. METHODS: We analyzed a prospective cohort of 654 patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. The primary exposure variable was the baseline serum sclerostin level measured at study enrollment...

INTRODUCTION: We examined the association of proteinuria with the risk for heart failure (HF) and other cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in patients with prior history of breast, colorectal, or stomach cancer using a nationwide population-based database. METHODS: We conducted this retrospective observation study using the JMDC Claims Database and analyzed 55,191 patients with prior history of breast, colorectal, or stomach cancer. The median age was 54 (48-60) years, and 20,665 participants (37...

INTRODUCTION: A comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) tailored to the chronic kidney disease (CKD) population would yield a more targeted approach to assessment and care. We aimed to identify domains of a CKD-specific CGA (CKD-CGA), characterize patterns of these domains, and evaluate their predictive utility on adverse health outcomes. METHODS: We used data from 864 participants in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort aged ≥55 years and not on dialysis...

As one of the main complications of chronic kidney disease (CKD), the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in CKD patients is high. CVD risk is markedly increased even at early stages of CKD, and CVD deaths account for half of all known causes of mortality in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. The alarming rate of CVD in CKD patients demands accurate risk prediction to identify individuals at greater risk and therefore needing intensive surveillance and treatment in order to improve their prognosis...

INTRODUCTION: Cardiac arrhythmias are the most common cause of death in hemodialysis. Autonomic dysfunction plays a central role in this arrhythmogenic background. Previous studies on hemodialysis-related changes in heart-rate-variability(HRV) give contradictory results. This study investigated HRV indices both at rest and in response to physical and mental stimulation maneuvers at multiple time-points around and during the hemodialysis procedure. METHODS: Autonomic function was assessed by linear and non-linear HRV indices at pre-dialysis, during-dialysis(3 equal time-periods), post-dialysis, and on the non-dialysis day in 36 hemodialysis patients...

INTRODUCTION: Elevated levels of fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) are associated with progression of CKD. FGF23 inhibits proximal tubular phosphate reabsorption, raising phosphate concentrations in the tubular fluid of functioning nephrons, predisposing to spontaneous precipitation of calcium phosphate crystals and resultant tubular injury. Calciprotein monomers (CPM) form spontaneously in biological fluids when clusters of calcium phosphate ions are bound by the liver-derived glycoprotein fetuin-A...

INTRODUCTION: Anemia frequently occurs in chronic kidney disease (CKD), is associated with poor quality of life and cardiovascular outcomes, and its treatment represents a considerable economic burden to the healthcare system. Although effective, the current standard of care for the treatment of anemia in chronic kidney disease patients with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents requires chronic/ongoing injections, making the treatment less accessible or desirable to patients not treated by in-center maintenance hemodialysis...