Stacking up intensive HD against standard in-center HD

We know that the risk of death is far higher for patients after two days with no HD. Do longer and/or more frequent HD regimens successfully address this problem and save lives? This review compares the impact of different HD regimens on a number of factors, including access problems, burden of therapy, quality of life, residual kidney function, heart disease, bone disease, anemia, hospitalization, and survival.

Read the abstract » | (added 2013-11-06)

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One type of PD catheter offers a significant survival advantage

Coiled? Swan neck? Straight? As it turns out, the catheter shape does matter. A new metaanalysis of 13 randomized controlled trials found that both catheters and people were twice as likely to survive when catheters were straight—not coiled.

Read the abstract » | (added 2013-11-06)

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Is there a new way to prevent PD infections? Sorry, honey

Honey has a long history of helping to heal wounds—with no risk of antibiotic resistance. But, a recent trial of the sweet stuff in PD exit site infections did not show a benefit. Researchers asked 186 patients from 26 clinics in Australia and New Zealand to put purified honey on their exit sites, while a control group (185 people) used standard care (or mupirocin if they carried S aureus). The time to first infection was about the same in both groups.

Read the abstract » | (added 2013-11-06)

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PD First. It makes sense!

Why is the default US dialysis standard in-center HD, when it doesn't offer the best outcomes, costs more, and offers a poor quality of life? That's the question asked in a new review article that points out the benefits of a PD first strategy. Rather than allowing ease of HD initiation to drive treatment "choice," it makes sense to change the default initiation option to PD.

Read the abstract » | (added 2013-11-06)

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The Brits are doing something right in home HD

Among 166 home HD patients in Manchester, UK (chosen with "liberal selection criteria"), the drop-out rate was far smaller than we tend to see in the US. In 8 years, just 24 patients switched to a different option. Technique survival at home was 98.4% at 1 year, 95.4% at 2 years, and 88.9% at 5 years, excluding death and transplant. Patients older than 60, those with diabetes or heart failure, and those with more comorbidities were more likely to stop doing home HD. The technical error rate was just 0.7% per year.

Read the abstract » | (added 2013-11-06)

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Nocturnal in-center HD comes to Slovenia

Only a few handfuls of US clinics offer nocturnal in-center HD. Now, Slovenian researchers report their experience of switching 10 patients from "standard" (4-5 hours!) in-center treatments to thrice weekly 8-hour long nighttime ones. With almost twice as much dialysis per week, mean predialysis creatinine and urea dropped significantly, as did mean dry weight. Six of the ten were able to stop taking phosphate binders, and one more patient had a dose reduction—and phosphate was added to the dialysate for three patients. There were no major changes in predialysis blood pressure, calcium or potassium levels, mean ultrafiltration, hemoglobin, or EPO dose (Editor's note: perhaps because standard HD in Slovenia is longer, and because the nocturnal treatments were only three times per week).

Read the abstract » | (added 2013-10-02)

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PD may one day help stroke victims

After an ischemic stroke that reduces blood flow, damage to brain cells can occur. High levels of the neurotransmitter glutamate in the blood—but not in brain cells—kills neurons. PD is known to remove glutamate from the blood. A new study in rats has found that using PD helped brain levels of glutamate to bounce back. In the rats, using PD shrunk the stroke damage area—and the rescued brain tissue still worked!

Read the abstract » | (added 2013-10-02)

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One way to reduce oxidative stress in PD patients

Oxygen is a great thing—in the right amounts. But, too much can wreak cellular havoc and even damage the heart. In people on PD, oxidative stress can hurt the peritoneum, too. Antioxidants to the rescue! A Greek study looked at the impact of vitamins C and E (alone and combined) in 20 people on PD vs. 10 healthy controls. Both of the vitamins reduced oxidative stress markers. (Talk to your doctor before taking any medication, vitamin, or supplement).

Read the abstract » | (added 2013-10-02)

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Why heart failure patients may benefit from PD

Like kidney failure, heart failure (HF) causes fluid to build up in the body. When diuretics don't work in people with HF, PD might help get rid of the excess, finds a new French study. The researchers found significantly better ejection fractions (amount of blood the heart can pump) with PD. And, those on PD had significantly fewer hospital days for HF.

Read the abstract » | (added 2013-10-02)

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The future of dialysis: Mini dialyzers with nanopores

The smaller the dialzer, the more portable dialysis can become. Ultrathin silicon membranes have now been tried in mini dialyzers with nanopores. Coating the membrane with polyethylene glycol helps reduce activation of white blood cells without blocking the tiny pores.

Read the abstract » | (added 2013-10-02)

Tags: Chronic kidney disease