The Impact Of Antihypertensive Drug Therapy In Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study

Objective: Hypertension (HTN) is both a cause and an effect of chronic kidney disease (CKD). To adequately control blood pressure (BP) in CKD, choosing antihypertensive strategies with the highest nephro-protective effect is crucial for preventing or reversing end-stage renal disease (ESRD) progression and reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The present study was therefore designed to evaluate the impact of clinical use of antihypertensive drug therapy in patients with CKD and ESRD. Methods: It is a prospective observational cohort study. The patients were divided into two cohorts i.e.; non-dialysis dependent (NDD) and dialysis-dependent (DD) CKD. This study was conducted for six months in the Nephrology department, Osmania General Hospital, Hyderabad, India. The data collected and entered into Microsoft Excel (2007) and mean, SD and range were calculated using SPSS version 25. Results: Antihypertensive drugs were prescribed alone or in combination based on the co-morbidities associated with CKD and HTN. Loop diuretics (Furosemide and Torsemide) and calcium channel blocker (Amlodipine, Nifedipine and Cilnidipine) were most commonly prescribed antihypertensive drugs. Triple therapy (44.11%) was prescribed mostly in both the cohorts (NDD = 16.66%+DD = 27.45%) of which calcium channel blockers+loop diuretic+sympatholytic accounts for 19.16% (NDD = 5.88%+DD = 13.73%).  Conclusion: The practice of prescribing antihypertensive drugs for the management of HTN and to achieve BP targets in CKD and ESRD remains uncertain. The development of new and revised guidelines is needed to reduce inappropriate variations in practice and promote better delivery of evidence-based treatment.

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in cirrhotic ascites: a prospective study in a tertiary care hospital, Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is one of the potentially lethal complications of cirrhosis and is defined as infected ascites in the absence of any recognizable secondary cause of infection. Objective was to study the occurrence of SBP, clinical and laboratory characteristics and the response to antibiotics. METHODS: We had prospectively evaluated 81 cirrhotic patients with ascites during one-year period. All SBP patients were treated with cefotaxime, 2gm IV, every 12h for 5days. RESULTS: Of these 81 patients, 24.67% of patients (n=20) had SBP and its variants (classical SBP n= 4, CNNA n=13 and bacterascites n=3). There were thirteen males and 7 females in the study.85% of the cases had Child;s class C cirrhosis. UGI bleeding and abdominal pain were the most common presenting symptoms of SBP. Culture positives were 35% (n=7). The most frequent organisms were Escherichia coli (n=3) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (n=2). 94% of the patients responded to therapy after 48 hours of treatment. Total resolution after 5 days of therapy was 73% and in-hospital mortality was 15% (n=3). CONCLUSION: SBP, if diagnosed early can be treated with very good success rate up to 73%. Appropriate treatment of SBP with cefotaxime can help in reducing mortality and morbidity in patients with chronic liver disease.

Liver abscess in the tropics: an experience from Nepal.

Thirty-six consecutive cases of liver abscess seen at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences Hospital, Dharan, Nepal, from 1995 to 1998, were reviewed. Twenty-one cases were male and 15 female, with a mean age of 42 years. Twenty-four cases (66.7%) were amebic, 7 (19.4%) pyogenic, 3 (8.3%) indeterminate and 2 (5.5%) tuberculous. The most frequent clinical features included fever (88%), leukocytosis (66.7%), abnormal level of serum albumin (44.4%) and alkaline phosphatase (38.9%). The liver abscess was single in 61.1%, multiple in 27.8%, and in 66.7% of cases the abscess was present in the right lobe of the liver. Ultrasonography was diagnostic in all cases. A positive culture of the abscess was obtained in 7 cases (19.4%). The most frequent bacteria found were Klebsiella pneumoniae (4;11.1%), followed by Escherichia coli (3;8.3%). Two cases were due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and none had malignancy. Percutaneous drainage was performed in 27 patients (75%). Mortality attributable to the abscess was 5.5%. We found percutaneous needle aspiration of liver abscess helpful in confirming diagnosis, as it provides a better bacteriological culture yield, gives a good outcome, and may uncover clinically unsuspected conditions like malignancy and tuberculosis. These two conditions should certainly be considered possible causes in our part of the world when an abscess fails to respond to standard treatment. In developing countries like Nepal, the clinical presentation of liver abscess has not varied over time. At present, rapid diagnosis and image-guided percutaneous drainage offer a better prognosis for liver abscess. We also recommend routine cytological examination of aspirated abscess materials, as well as stains and cultures for acid-fast bacilli.