[Preserved saphenous grafts in hemodialysis. 20 years' experience]. / Greffons saphènes conservés en hémodialyse. Vingt ans d'expérience.

From 1972 to 1992, 790 vascular conduits were implanted as vascular access in hemodialysis patients, of whom 402 were "longs" (length above 15 cm), with 168 PTFE grafts and 234 homosaphenous preserved vein grafts matching 136 manufactured and 98 self-prepared grafts. Functional period of time as 10 years has been obtained with the two materials, and up to twelve years with one manufactured graft. Among complications were observed 12% serious infection with PTFE graft compared to 2% with homosaphenous graft; aneurysm on 9% of PTFE grafts and 11% of saphenous graft, stenosis on vein graft anastomosis in 65% of the PTFE cases and 85% of the saphenous cases. There were 12% complications specific to PTFE grafts. Finally, homosaphenous vein is a material of choice in hemodialysis vascular access, mainly with the manufactured grafts.

Evaluation of parameters for adequate dialysis therapy: (2). Comparison between parameters according to UKM and other laboratory data.

Urea kinetic modeling (UKM) is often regarded as the best method for assessing the dialysis adequacy and consequently for the prescription of treatment time. However, other parameters are involved in the monitoring of end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Kt/V-urea and protein catabolic rate (pcr) were evaluated in 53 ESRD patients (25 males and 28 females; mean age, 60 +/- 2 years old; mean duration, 80 +/- 11 months), twice at an interval of 4 months, and pre-dialysis concentration of (pre-DC) plasma potassium, bicarbonate, calcium and phosphate were measured. The pre-dialysis systolic blood pressure and hematocrit were also recorded. The numbers of patients who were within the optimal range of Kt/V-urea and pcr recommended by Gotch and Sargent were 36 (67.9%) and 39 (73.6%), respectively, at the first control period, and 39 (73.6%) and 44 (83.0%) at the second control period. However, only about 50% of the patients were within the optimal range of pre-DC plasma calcium, phosphate and bicarbonate. Furthermore, very few patients fulfilled the conditions for all the parameters. It is concluded that (1) UKM is required to describe the domain of dialysis prescription, and (2) other parameters which are not dependent so much on dialysis should be taken into account for assessing the adequacy of dialysis.

Evaluation of parameters for adequate dialysis therapy: (1). Monitoring of parameters by urea kinetic modeling.

In an attempt to evaluate the adequacy of regular dialysis therapy, calculations of Kt/V-urea and protein catabolic rate (pcr) from the data of routine laboratory examinations by means of urea kinetic modeling were performed in 59 regular dialysis patients (28 males and 31 females; mean age, 59 +/- 2 years old; mean dialysis duration, 83 +/- 10 months). The mean values of Kt/V-urea and pcr were 1.10 +/- 0.04 and 0.98 +/- 0.03 g/kgBW.day, respectively. The number of patients who were within the optimal range (0.9-1.4 for Kt/V urea and 0.9-1.5 for pcr) was 37 (62.7%) for Kt/V-urea and 38 (64.4%) for pcr. Furthermore, we inferred that, based on an appropriate dietary protein intake, removal of urea by intermittent dialysis should be adjusted to maintain the patient in equilibrium for a defined pre-dialysis plasma urea concentration. From the data obtained, we concluded that: (1) it is possible to apply urea kinetic modeling on the basis of routine laboratory examinations, (2) it is important to maintain the pre-dialysis plasma urea concentration at more than a certain level, and (3) it is also important to control the post-dialysis plasma urea concentration at a low level.

Different patterns of uremic polyneuropathy: clinicopathologic study.

Ten patients with a uremic polyneuropathy were investigated. Chronic renal failure was associated with a variety of neuropathies, including an acute axonal neuropathy, a progressive axonal neuropathy with secondary segmental demyelination, and a predominantly demyelinative neuropathy. All patterns were associated with distal degeneration of fibers evidenced by axonal sprouting observed on single-fiber preparations. The etiology of such variations in pathology of uremic neuropathy is still not clearly understood.