[Clinical care pathway for chronic kidney disease : development and perspectives]. / Le trajet de soins de l'insuffisance rénale chronique : développement et perspectives.

Because of the significant costs related to the treatment of end-stage kidney disease by dialysis, Belgian Health Care Authorities proposed in June 2009 to launch an early multidisciplinary care plan for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients in the form of a clinical care pathway (CCP) focusing on a combined follow-up by the general practitioner and the nephrologist. The objective was to increase nephro-protection measures, reduce patient morbidity and mortality, and delay admission on dialysis. Our Nephrology Department at Erasme Hospital took the opportunity of CCP to set up workshops on therapy education which promote CKD patients' compliance and autonomy regarding their treatment (" empowerment "). These workshops are conducted by a health professional together with a patient partner recruited by our team according to the model developed by the faculty of medicine at the University of Montreal. This model is based on the patient's valued experience of living with a chronic disease, a knowledge which is complementary to that acquired by any health professional. This patient partnership (PP) may also be implemented in teaching and research. In health care services, patient partners with a resource profile are involved not only in the organization of these services, but also in the development and management of health care political programs. The PP model currently developed in the Nephrology Department is part of the Quality project of our academic hospital and helps to further the co-construction of future health care networks.

Suite aux surcoûts liés au traitement de l'insuffisance rénale chronique (IRC) terminale par la dialyse, l'INAMI a proposé depuis juin 2009 une prise en charge multidisciplinaire précoce du patient IRC sous la forme d'un trajet de soins (TDS) privilégiant le suivi par le médecin généraliste en alternance avec le néphrologue. Le but est d'optimiser les mesures de néphroprotection, de réduire la morbi-mortalité des patients et de retarder leur arrivée en dialyse. Notre service a saisi cette opportunité des TDS de l'IRC pour mettre en place des ateliers d'éducation thérapeutique susceptibles de favoriser l'adhésion et l'autonomie des patients IRC vis-à-vis de leur traitement (" empowerment "). Ces ateliers sont co-animés par un professionnel de santé et un patient partenaire recruté par le service selon le modèle développé à la Faculté de Médecine de l'Université de Montréal. Le partenariat patient (PP) s'appuie sur les savoirs expérientiels reconnus des patients, complémentaires aux savoirs professionnels, issus de la vie avec la maladie et acquis par la pratique des soins et des services de santé. Il peut aussi se développer dans l'enseignement et la recherche. En milieux de soins, il s'agit de patients partenaires au profil ressource, partenaires dans les soins directs, mais aussi dans l'organisation des services, la gouvernance et l'élaboration des politiques de santé. Ce modèle, en cours d'implémentation dans le Service de Néphrologie de l'Hôpital Erasme, fait partie du projet qualité institutionnel et tend vers la co-construction des milieux de soins de demain.

[Management of high blood pressure in patients with chronic kidney disease : Summary of recent guidelines]. / Prise en charge de l'hypertension artérielle chez le patient souffrant de maladie rénale chronique, que disent les guidelines en 2016 ?

Chronic kidney disease and high blood pressure are two common diseases that mutually maintain during their evolution. In the advanced stages of chronic kidney disease, most pat ients are hypertensive and show signs of vascular disease (coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular or peripheral). Almost one third of the patients with advanced chronic kidney disease exhibit resistant hypertension that requires complex therapeutic management. In chronic kidney disease, antihypertensive treatment is conditioned by comorbidities, but also by proteinuria, which is an independent cardiovascular risk factor in addition to the rate of glomerular filtration rate. The treatment of high blood pressure is a cornerstone of the management of the chronic kidney disease. It limits the risk of cardiovascular events (eg. myocardial infarction, stroke), but also slows the progression of chronic kidney disease. Various recommendations have been recently published on the subject in order to offer assistance to the therapeutic management of hypertension in the patient suffering from chronic kidney disease. The purpose of this article is to highlight these main key elements.

La maladie rénale chronique et l'hypertension artérielle sont 2 pathologies fréquentes qui s'entretiennent mutuellement au cours de leur évolution. Lors des stades avancés de la maladie rénale chronique, une très grande majorité des patients sont hypertendus, mais présentent aussi des signes d'artériopathie (maladies artérielles coronariennes, cérébrales ou périphériques). Pratiquement un tiers des patients souffrant de maladie rénale chronique avancée souffrent d'hypertension artérielle résistante qui nécessite une prise en charge thérapeutique complexe. En cas de maladie rénale chronique, le traitement ant ihypertenseur est condit ionné par les comorbidités, mais aussi par la protéinurie, facteur de risque cardiovasculaire indépendant du débit de filtration glomérulaire. Le traitement de l 'hyper tension artérielle est une pierre angulaire de la prise en charge du patient atteint de maladie rénale chronique. Il permet de limiter le risque d'événement vasculaire (par ex. infarctus du myocarde, accident vasculaire cérébral), mais aussi de ralentir la progression de la maladie rénale chronique. Différentes recommandations ont été publiées récemment sur le sujet afin de proposer une aide à la prise en charge thérapeutique de l'hypertension artérielle chez le patient atteint de maladie rénale chronique. L'objectif du présent article est d'en souligner les principaux éléments-clés.

Monitoring of kidney function in HIV-positive patients.

HIV-positive patients are at increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease. Although guidelines recommend regular monitoring of renal function in individuals living with HIV, the optimal frequency remains to be defined. In this review, we discuss the renal syndromes that may be identified at an earlier stage via routine assessment of kidney function, and provide guidance in terms of the frequency of monitoring, the most useful tests to perform, and their clinical significance. Specifically, we address whether annual monitoring of kidney function is appropriate for the majority of HIV-positive patients.

Patient and graft outcome in current era of immunosuppression: a single centre pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: The present single centre study aims at analyzing the impact on renal allograft outcome of the important changes which occurred in the transplant population and immunosuppressive therapy during the last two decades. METHODS: From 2000 to 2013, 779 single kidney transplantations were performed on 635 patients who all received on an intent-to-treat basis steroids, a calcineurin inhibitor, mycophenolate mofetil and an induction therapy with either antithymocyte globulin or an antagonist directed to the interleukin (IL)-2 receptor. Uni- and multivariate analyses of patient and immunologic graft survival were conducted. RESULTS: The sole factor predicting patient survival is recipient's age: 10-year survival rates are 94·7, 81·6 and 57·9% for the <45, 45-60 and >60 years age groups, respectively (P<0·001). Peak (>50% panel reactive antibodies) anti-human leucocyte antigens (HLA) sensitization, cold ischaemia time and HLA-B and -DR mismatches (MM) influence graft outcome: at 10 years, the difference in 10-year survival rates is 5·9% between grafts from sensitized and not sensitized patients (90·9 vs 96·8%, P = 0·002), 3·8% between grafts with <18 and ≧18 hours cold ischaemia (96·6 vs 92·8%, P = 0·003), 7·3% between grafts with no MM and either B or DR MM versus those with B and DR MM (96·8 vs 89·5%, P = 0·002). CONCLUSION: In our single centre experience, graft survival was most strongly determined by HLA matching, offering excellent long term graft outcome to most patients.

[Estimation of the glomerular filtration rate in 2014 by tests and equations: strengths and weaknesses]. / L'estimation de la filtration glomérulaire en 2014: intérêts et limites des tests et formules.

The accurate estimation of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is a goal of multiple interests regarding clinical, research and public health aspects. The strong relationship between progressive loss of renal function and mortality underlines the need for early diagnosis and close follow-up of renal diseases. Creatinine is the commonest biomarker of GFR in use. By reason of non-renal determinants of GFR, it is required to integrate creatinine values within equations that take in account its most important determinants (i.e., age, sex). The CKD-EPI 2009 equation is now recommended as the first line equation to estimate GFR within the general population. In this indication, it should replace MDRD that tends to overestimate the prevalence of stage 3 chronic kidney disease with GFR around 60 ml/min. However, many questions remain about the accuracy of GFR equations in specific situations such as extremes of age or body weight. The identification of new biomarkers, less determined by non-renal determinants, is of importance. Among these biomarkers, cystatin-C is more accurate to estimate GFR when it is combined to creatinine (i.e., equation CKD-EPI 2012). However the indica. tions for using cystatin-C instead of creatinine alone are still unclear and its use remains limited in routine practice. In conclusion, neither biomarker nor equation gives an accurate estimation for the whole range of GFR and for all patient populations. Limits of prediction are relying on both biomarker's properties and the range of GFR that is concerned, but also rely on the measurement methods. Therefore, it is crucial to interpret the estimated GFR according to the strengths and weaknesses of the equation in use.

[Acute kidney injury and drug-induced nephropathies]. / Insuffisance (atteinte) rénale aiguë et néphrotoxicité médicamenteuse.

All types of acute kidney injury (AKI) (functional /pre-renal, parenchymal/intra-renal, obstructive/post-renal) result in a sharp drop of the glomerular filtration rate, with variable reversibility according to the initial cause. In one case out of five, drug intake can be related to the onset of AKI. Antibiotics, analgesics and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor antagonists are the agents mostly involved, as well as iodinated radio-contrast agents. Mechanisms are often complex: toxic cellular effect directed on a nephron segment (tubular necrosis) associated or not with intraglomerular hemodynamic changes, or immune process leading to acute tubule-interstitial nephritis. Each underlying risk factor (age > 60 year, cardiac or hepatic failure, hypertension, diabetes, intra-vascular volume depletion, preexisting or unknown chronic kidney disease) must be taken into consideration by the prescribing physician because it reduces the chance of functional recovery and worsens the renal and the overall prognosis. A pre-renal additional component is often present and avoidable thanks to a strict hemodynamic monitoring. The present article summarizes some recent physiopathological aspects of AKI and makes the link between clinical situations and currently prescribed drugs. Lessons from the radio-contrast induced nephropathy are examined by taking into account prevention aspects and risk factors screening. An effective collaboration between the general practitioner and the nephrologist would benefit in optimizing the treatment of difficult cases.

[Usual interstitial pneumonia]. / Fibrose pulmonaire idiopathique.

We report the case of a 49-year old woman with an idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) initially diagnosed as a systemic lupus erythematosus. The IPF is an uncommon clinical entity with an estimated prevalence from 3 to 6 cases per 100,000 in the general population of the United States. This disease is characterised by an insidious onset, a pejorative course and poor survival prognosis (median survival: 2.8 years). The diagnosis is often difficult and depends on the exclusion of other diseases associated with interstitial lung injury. It is generally established only after collegial coordination between the clinician, the radiologist and the pathologist. New consensuses are now published to establish a clear and explicit classification of the IPF. Moreover, because of the poor results obtained with conventional immunosuppressive drugs, new treatments are proposed.