Survival analysis of Thai patients with IgM nephropathy, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and membranous nephrotic syndrome.

Long term outcome of 124 Thai adult nephrotic patients was determined. Nephrotic syndrome affects the young more often than the old (median age 29 years). The most common pathology was IgM nephropathy (45.2%), membranous nephropathy (31.5%) and FSGS (23.4%). Sixty-four per cent of patients with IgM nephropathy respond to corticosteroid within 4-8 weeks while twenty three per cent were late responders. However, more than half of these patients were relapsers or steroid dependent. Response to corticosteroid occurred in 48.2 per cent of patients with FSGS while the response rate of patients with membranous nephropathy was only 23.1 per cent. Survival analysis revealed that five and ten years renal survival of IgM nephropathy was 98 per cent. Five and ten years renal survival of FSGS was 83.7 per cent and 76.8 per cent while those of membranous nephropathy was 95 per cent and 63.3 per cent. The response to corticosteroid was associated with better prognosis in FSGS. Our results show that patients with IgM nephropathy and membranous nephropathy have a generally good prognosis. Renal function is usually well preserved for at least ten years. The prognosis of patients with FSGS varied and correlated with the degree of steroid responsiveness.

Acute renal failure (ARF) in Thailand. Retrospective analysis in a medical center.

The changing trend of today's ARF in Thailand had led to requirement of epidemiologic data for management and planning. Retrospective review of adult inpatient records for 5 years of Ramathibodi Hospital was performed. Normal initial serum creatinine rising to double its value within one week and/or oliguria were the inclusion criteria. Data from another 3 university hospitals were used for comparison. AFR is the second most common renal disease at Ramathibodi Hospital with sepsis as the major underlying etiology. Among 396 cases of ARF, 194 were non-oliguric, 150 oliguric and 52 anuric. Non-oliguric cases needed lesser dialysis and had lower mortality. The number of AFR patients from 4 university hospitals varied from 0.14 to 0.18 per cent of hospital admission. If we consider the incidence of AFR in general hospital admission to be 0.1 per cent and the average hospital admission/year of Thailand was 3.25 million, there will be 3,250 cases/year or 55 cases/million/population year. If 4 dialyses/case was considered, 220 dialyses/ year/million population was required. We suggested that the hospitals of the province with population above 1 million should have a hemodialysis unit for both their local service and referral cases and all provincial hospitals should develop at least a peritoneal dialysis facility for increasing cases in ARF.

Nocturnal physiological and biochemical changes in sudden unexplained death syndrome: a preliminary report of a case control study.

Sudden nocturnal deaths among "healthy" workers in Southeast Asia have been termed "sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome (SUNDS)" or "sudden unexplained death syndrome (SUDS)". The pathogenesis is still unknown. The paucity of publications on nocturnal monitoring and scientific data stimulated us to perform this study, which included biochemical tests and physiological monitoring during the night in 11 males north-eastern Thai workers. Group 1 (G1) consisted of 5 subjects with neither a previous history of near-SUDS (NSUDS) nor a familial history of SUDS (FHSUDS). Group 2 (G2) consisted of 6 subjects with a family history of either SUDS or NSUDS. Two subjects in G2 presented with NSUDS. Two-day nocturnal monitoring included blood sugar, electrolytes, and respiratory parameters. 24-hour Holter ECGs were monitored for 2 days. The subjects underwent exercise stress tests on the 2nd day of this study. Significant nocturnal hypoxia was more common in G2 than G1 and this abnormality was aggravated by exercise. There were no significant findings in sleep apnea (apnea indices) or in nocturnal biochemical changes, eg blood sugar, electrolytes, thiamine. The recordings of the Holter-ECGs were within normal limits in both groups. We conclude that nocturnal hypoxia might be the primary abnormality in SUDS, and this abnormality was aggravated by the day-time exercise. The cause of nocturnal hypoxia requires further studies.