Kidney Transplantation Using Gonadal Vein for Venous Anastomosis in Patients With Iliac Vein Thrombosis or Stenosis: A Series of Cases.

BACKGROUND: Kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with end-stage renal disease. The standard surgery uses the recipient's iliac vessels for vascular anastomosis. Thrombosis and/or stenosis of the iliac vein, which are possible complications of multiple vascular access points for dialysis, can be detected intraoperatively, constituting a surgical challenge. An infrequently reported option is the use of the gonadal vein. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the outcomes of venous anastomosis in the gonadal vein in patients with iliac vein thrombosis and/or stenosis submitted to kidney transplantation. METHODS: We reviewed the records of five adult recipients with iliac vein thrombosis and/or stenosis detected intraoperatively during emergency kidney transplantation with deceased donor due to vascular access failure from February 2013 to December 2014. Antithrombotic prophylaxis was not performed. We evaluated the postoperative complications, length of stay, early graft echo-Doppler, and renal function during the first year postoperatively. RESULTS: Delayed graft function occurred in three cases. Two patients developed postoperative infection requiring antibiotics. One patient required reoperation due to post-renal biopsy complications. The mean length of stay was 31.2 days and the mean serum creatinine levels at discharge, at 6 months, and at 12 months postoperatively were 1.42 mg/dL, 0.86 mg/dL, and 0.82 mg/dL, respectively. All patients had normal ultrasonography. There were no losses of graft or deaths during follow-up. CONCLUSION: Venous anastomosis using the gonadal vein in kidney transplantation for patients with iliac vein thrombosis and/or stenosis showed good clinical and surgical results, showing this method to be a viable alternative to venous drainage in these complex patients.

Artery Stenosis of the Renal Graft: Experience of a Center of Northeastern Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Transplant renal artery stenosis (TRAS), the most common vascular complication after transplant (Tx), leads to resistant hypertension, impaired renal function, and even loss of the graft. The purpose of the study was to investigate the prevalence and factors associated with TRAS in northeastern Brazil. METHODS: The study was conducted as a retrospective case-control study in a population of Tx recipients in a renal Tx center in northeastern Brazil. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the recipients and donors, data related to the surgery, laboratory data, and number of anti-hypertensive drugs were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed with the use of SPSS 17.0. RESULTS: A total of 494 of 529 recipients were assessed, of which 24 had TRAS. The prevalence of TRAS was 4.8%. Twelve patients (50%) were men with a mean age of 46.7 ± 13.5 years. The mean time of diagnosis was 89.9 days after Tx. The risk factors associated with TRAS were number of anti-hypertensive drugs ≥2 (odds ratio, 17.0; confidence interval, 4.1 to 70.4; P = .001) and grafting with 2 or more arteries (odds ratio, 8.9; confidence interval, 1.4 to 56.6; P = .021). There was a significant reduction in mean systolic blood pressure (147.1 ± 23.7 to 127.8 ± 15.2 mm Hg, P = .001) and diastolic blood pressure (86.6 ± 13.0 to 77.6 ± 9.4 mm Hg, P = .001) after TRAS repair and in serum creatinine (2.8 ± 2.4 to 1.9 ± 1.8 mg/dL, P = .04). CONCLUSIONS: Grafts with 2 or more arteries are associated with TRAS, as well as patients who use a higher number of anti-hypertensive drugs. TRAS repair was associated with improved blood pressure control and renal function.

Comparative bioavailability of two suspension formulations of potassium diclofenac in healthy male volunteers.

The bioavailability of two suspension formulations of potassium diclofenac (Flogan, Merck and Cataflam, Ciba-Geigy) were compared in eighteen healthy male volunteers who received a single dose of 7 ml of each suspension (equivalent to 105 mg of potassium diclofenac) in an open randomized two period crossover design, with a fourteen-day washout period between doses. Serum samples were obtained over a 24 hour interval and diclofenac concentrations were determined by HPLC with ultraviolet detection. From the serum diclofenac concentration vs time curves, AUC[0-24] (area under the concentration vs time curves from 0-24 h), Cmax (maximum achieved concentration), Tmax (time to achieve Cmax) and Ke (terminal first order elimination constant) were obtained. Overlapping of Tmax intervals for both formulations was observed, but the important inter-subject variation observed in Cmax ratios did not allow equivalence conclusion for the rate of absorption. Equivalence in the extent of bioavailability between both potassium diclofenac suspension brands was concluded from the analysis of AUC[0-24] ratios.

Phenytoin and carbamazepine decreased oral bioavailability of praziquantel.

Antiepileptic drugs, especially carbamazepine and phenytoin, are potent liver enzyme inducers. Since praziquantel, the drug used to treat neurocysticercosis, undergoes extensive liver first-pass metabolism, we carried out a prospective study to verify whether there was a decrease in oral bioavailability induced by carbamazepine and phenytoin. Carbamazepine and phenytoin significantly decreased concentrations of praziquantel, due to increased clearance secondary to induction of first pass-liver metabolism. The magnitude of the decrease is surprisingly high and may be responsible for failures of treatment.

Perspectivas no tratamento da insuficiencia renal cronica em nosso meio. / Treatment of the chronic renal insufficiency in our milieu

Os autores analisam em varias linhas de pesquisas desenvolvidas no Centro de Pesquisas em Doencas Hepato-Renais, ate alcancar a fase de transplante renal humano. A tecnica do autotransplante em caes e descrita com detalhes Na preservacao renal, enfantizam o uso das substancias ricas em K e Mg, tendo o dextran 70 ou haemacell como coloide a 4oC. As alteracoes histopatologicas em 17 rins de caes autotransplantados foram analisadas, tendo sido estes animais divididos em tres grupos, segundo o tempo de preservacao. Em 42 animais divididos em tres grupos, estudamos o uso da ciclofosfamida e metilprednisolona no pre-tratamento do animal doador. As drogas eram feitas por via endovenosa 6 e 2 horas antes da nefrectomia. Finalmente, analisamos o desenvolvimento do transplante renal humano no Estado do Ceara