[Epidemiological study on urinary stones in the region of Fez and the risk of recurrence]. / Étude épidémiologique sur les calculs urinaires dans la région de Fès et sur le risque de récidive.

OBJECTIVE: In Morocco, few works on morpho-constitutional analysis of urinary calculi have been published, especially for patients in the region of Fez. This work aims to make a retrospective epidemiological study on the nature of urinary calculi with patients from the region of Fez and control the urine of the same patients after a period of three months to report on the risk of recurrence. METHOD AND PATIENTS: Urinary stones were collected mostly in the nephrology service and urology service at the Hassan II Hospital in Fez. These calculations after being dried for 24 hours at room temperature underwent a morphological analysis, followed by infrared spectroscopic analysis Fourier transform. After a period of about three months, morning urine of the same patients was analyzed by crystalluria to control the presence of crystals that reflect a risk of recurrence. RESULTS: In our series of 123 samples, the age of patients ranges from 2-79 years. The prevalence was higher for men with a sex ratio of 1.3. The results of the analysis calculations showed that 61% were formed of calcium oxalate and 15% of uric acid and 25% of stones were carbapatite, struvite, cystine… The study by crystalluria urine revealed the presence of the crystals in 69% of patients' nephrolithiasis. CONCLUSION: The results of our study are conformed to the series of results in other regions of Morocco regarding the predominance of calcium oxalate stones. The presence of crystals in the urine of 69% of patients may indicate other recurrences. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4.

Attitude of hemodialysis patients toward renal transplantation: a Moroccan Interregional Survey.

INTRODUCTION: Kidney transplantation (KT) is considered the treatment of choice for many patients with severe chronic kidney disease because quality of life and survival are often better than in patients who undergo dialysis. This study assessed patients' knowledge and attitudes regarding KT. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 2066 hemodialysis patients were investigated as part of the ARTEMIS (Attitude Toward Renal Transplantation and Eligibility Among Dialysis Patients in a Moroccan Interregional Survey) study. RESULTS: Patients' mean age was 52.9 years, and the mean duration of hemodialysis was 55.3 months. Among these patients, 73.3% would like to undergo transplantation. Among the subjects wishing to be transplanted, 75.7% would accept the graft from a living or a cadaveric donor; 17.8% would refuse transplantation from a related living donor; and 6.5% would reject organs from donors after brain death. Approximately 17% of patients have a potential related living donor. The main motivating factor for KT was fluid restriction and diet constraints (43.3%). One third of patients believe that Islam does not allow organ donation from a related living donor, and almost one half think that it is prohibited from a brain-dead donor. Independent factors affecting patients' attitude toward KT were young age, male gender, persistence of residual diuresis, availability of a related living donor, and better information on the subject of transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: To improve hemodialysis patients' accessibility to KT, patients, their families, and other support providers need better information. Awareness campaigns are needed to promote organ donation.

The Fate of Patients Who Started Hemodialysis during Childhood or Adolescence: Results of an Interregional Moroccan Survey.

Hemodialysis is the most used renal replacement therapy for children in Morocco. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of patients who started hemodialysis in childhood and study their characteristics and specificities of their care. For this we conducted a multicentric descriptive cross-sectional study of all chronic hemodialysis patients who started dialysis in pediatric age, in hemodialysis centers in four of the sixteen regions of Morocco. We collected 2066 patients undergoing dialysis in 39 hemodialysis centers; from these, only 72 patients (3.48%) started hemodialysis in childhood. The average age of patients was 20.64 ± 6.5 years with a sex ratio of 1.9. Duration of dialysis was 78.2 ± 56 months. The cause of end stage renal disease was urological abnormalities in 18% of cases and glomerulopathy in 12.5% of cases; however, it remains unknown in half of the patients. Over 18 years, 74% of patients are without profession, it is active in 13% of cases, and pursuing studies are only in 13% of cases. Patients under 5 years and those with a low weight are rarely taken care of in chronic hemodialysis with little individualization of prescription. Greater attention should be paid to renal transplantation that is desired by the majority of these patients (92%).

[Glomerulonephritis and thymoma: a case report and review of the literature]. / Glomérulonéphrite et thymome : un cas clinique et revue de la littérature.

The authors present a case of nephrotic syndrome due to focal-segmental glomerulosclerosis, occurring three years after thymectomy and myasthenia gravis. Twenty-three other cases of nephrotic syndrome associated with thymoma and myasthenia gravis have been reported in the literature. The nephrotic syndrome may be related to T-cell dysfunction associated with thymoma.