Blood glucose meters may overestimate blood sugar levels when Icodextrin PD fluid is used

If you use a blood sugar monitor, you need to be able to trust the results. But, they may not be accurate if you use Icodextrin PD fluid. A case report of four people with insulin-dependent diabetes found that their blood sugar monitor readings were normal—at the same time that their hospital drawn blood sugars were dangerously low.

Read the abstract » | (added 2011-07-26)

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PD is safe and efficient for urgent dialysis starts

Researchers in Germany followed 123 people who started dialysis without a prior plan (66 did PD, 54 did standard in-center HD). Those on HD had much higher infection rates and somewhat (but not significantly) lower survival.

Read the abstract » | (added 2011-07-26)

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The frontier of regenerative medicine—what it can mean for kidney disease

While dialysis can remove wastes and excess water from the blood, it can't replace or respond to hormones like healthy kidneys do. Regenerative medicine is at the cutting edge of efforts to grow kidney cells in the lab—with the goal of one day growing new kidneys. And, that day may not be far off.

Read the abstract » | (added 2011-07-26)

Tags: Chronic kidney disease

Changing the treatment options paradigm: Home vs. in-center, not PD vs. HD

Traditional ESRD treatment options education divides the choice into PD vs. HD, and then looks at home HD. Drs. Thodis and Oreopoulos suggest that it makes more sense to look at home (PD and HD) vs. in-center instead.

Read the abstract » | (added 2011-07-26)

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Choosing PD may mean fewer access procedures for you

In a study of 369 Canadians with ESRD, 224 (61%!) chose PD, and just 145 (39%) chose HD. After an average of 1.3 years, those who chose PD had significantly fewer access procedures. PD catheters were less likely to fail than HD access.

Read the abstract » | (added 2011-07-26)

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With a nurse educator, more urgent-start patients choose self-care treatments

As many as half of people start dialysis with no prior plan for it. When a renal triage nurse sees these patients, the chances that they will opt for PD, home HD, or transplant was significantly higher.

Read the abstract » | (added 2011-07-26)

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Review: What do we know now about more-frequent HD?

Studies have shown since the 1960s that more-frequent dialysis improves outcomes. The recent Frequent Hemodialysis Network trials confirmed these findings. This article reviews the data.

Read the abstract » | (added 2011-07-26)

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Nocturnal HD helps people grow cells that lead to healthy new blood vessels

Growth of new blood vessels is impaired with standard in-center HD. The cells that grow blood vessels don't work as well as they should, because waste levels in the blood are still too high, even with treatment. But, nocturnal HD is another story. With the blood much cleaner, there was significantly better cell function.

Read the abstract » | (added 2011-07-26)

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Ratios of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fats may impact health in kidney disease

Western diets tend to have too much omega 6 and not enough omega 3 fatty acids. In 145 people on standard in-center HD, having too much omega 6 was linked with significantly higher inflammation.

Read the abstract » | (added 2011-07-26)

Tags: Chronic kidney disease

Early PD survival benefit comes from avoiding HD catheters

Studies have found better survival on PD than standard HD in the first 1-2 years of treatment. A new study of 40,526 people found that the main reason for this difference is that those on PD did not use central venous HD catheters.

Read the abstract » | (added 2011-06-21)

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