ABSTRACT
To investigate effect of body mass index [BMI] on survival and technique failure in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis [PD]. In this retrospective study three hundred ninety-two consecutive patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis from September 1995 to January 2013 were included. Median PD duration was 53 [range: 4-189] months. Clinical outcomes were mortality and technique failure. Technique failure was defined as transfer to hemodialysis [HD] due to peritonitis, ultrafiltration failure, inadequate dialysis, exit-site and/or tunnel infection, and mechanical problems. Deaths within 3 months after transferring to HD were accepted as PD-related mortalities. The patient and technique survival rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Mortality risks were analyzed using the multivariate Cox regression model in which we included [in a backward-wald manner] all the significant variables from the univariate analysis. There were 164 [41.8%] deaths. Forty-six [11.7%] patients underwent renal transplantation whereas 132 [33.7%] patients were transferred to HD. The multivariate Cox regression analysis found that the patient survival rates were significantly associated with age, BMI, baseline serum creatinine and albumin levels, and total Kt/Vurea. All variables as potential risk factors for the patient survival were also assessed for technique survival in univariate analysis and technique survival rates were significantly associated only with BMI [p: 0.015]. BMI was associated with unfavorable patient survival in PD patients
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to determine the prevalence of anti- Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in haemodialysis patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). Methods: One hundred and seventy three haemodialysis patients, and 40 healthy controls, were studied for the prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies by a micro enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies were detected in 97 (56.06%) haemodialysis patients and 8 (20%) controls with a statistical significance. In addition, anti-T. gondii IgM antibodies were detected in 1.73% of patients, but none of the controls. In conclusion, a high percentage of positivity for Toxoplasma antibodies in patients with CRF undergoing haemodialysis was noticed, thus parasitological surveys of CRF patients should be periodically performed to prevent the possible dissemination of toxoplasmosis through the dialysis procedure.