Hyponatremia in a Patient With Vasodilatory Shock Due to Overdose of Antihypertensive Medications: A Case Report.

Vasodilatory shock can be caused by septic shock, neurogenic shock, anaphylaxis, drugs, and toxins. Vasopressin is commonly used for the restoration of vasomotor tone in vasodilatory shock due to sepsis. This agent exerts its vasoconstrictive effect via smooth muscle V1 receptors and has antidiuretic activity via kidney V2 receptors. Stimulation of V2 receptors results in the integration of aquaporin 2 channels into the apical membrane of collecting ducts leading to free water reabsorption. This antidiuretic action of vasopressin predisposes to hyponatremia. Yet, the development of hyponatremia with the use of vasopressin in critically ill patients with sepsis is rare. A 75-year-old female presented after a suicidal attempt by ingestion of amlodipine and lisinopril. Despite adequate intravenous fluids administration, she remained hypotensive, requiring the initiation of vasopressors. She developed hyponatremia after initiation of vasopressin due to the absence of endotoxemia, and her serum sodium normalized once vasopressin was discontinued. We recommend monitoring for hyponatremia as a complication of vasopressin, especially in patients without sepsis.

Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Rates and Epidemiology of Clostridioides difficile Infection in One VA Hospital.

The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increases in some healthcare-associated infections. We investigated the impact of the pandemic on the rates and molecular epidemiology of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) within one VA hospital. We anticipated that the potential widespread use of antibiotics for pneumonia during the pandemic might increase CDI rates given that antibiotics are a major risk for CDI. Hospital data on patients with CDI and recurrent CDI (rCDI) were reviewed both prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (2015 to 2019) and during the pandemic (2020-2021). Restriction endonuclease analysis (REA) strain typing was performed on CD isolates recovered from stool samples collected from October 2019 to March 2022. CDI case numbers declined by 43.2% in 2020 to 2021 compared to the annual mean over the previous 5 years. The stool test positivity rate was also lower during the COVID-19 pandemic (14.3% vs. 17.2%; p = 0.013). Inpatient hospitalization rates declined, and rates of CDI among inpatients were reduced by 34.2% from 2020 to 2021. The mean monthly cases of rCDI also declined significantly after 2020 [3.38 (95% CI: 2.89-3.87) vs. 1.92 (95% CI: 1.27-2.56); p = <0.01]. Prior to the pandemic, REA group Y was the most prevalent CD strain among the major REA groups (27.3%). During the first wave of the pandemic, from 8 March 2020, to 30 June 2020, there was an increase in the relative incidence of REA group BI (26.7% vs. 9.1%); After adjusting for CDI risk factors, a multivariable logistic regression model revealed that the odds of developing an REA group BI CDI increased during the first pandemic wave (OR 6.41, 95% CI: 1.03-39.91) compared to the pre-pandemic period. In conclusion, the incidence of CDI and rCDI decreased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, REA BI (Ribotype 027), a virulent, previously epidemic CD strain frequently associated with hospital transmission and outbreaks, reappeared as a prevalent strain during the first wave of the pandemic, but subsequently disappeared, and overall CDI rates declined.

Using herbs medically without knowing their composition: are we playing Russian roulette?

Herbal medicine, a form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), is used throughout the world, in both developing and developed countries. The ingredients in herbal medicines are not standardized by any regulatory agency. Variability exists in the ingredients as well as in their concentrations. Plant products may become contaminated with bacteria and fungi during storage. Therefore, harm can occur to the kidney, liver, and blood components after ingestion. We encourage scientific studies to identify the active ingredients in herbs and to standardize their concentrations in all herbal preparations. Rigorous studies need to be performed in order to understand the effect of herbal ingredients on different organ systems as well as these substances' interaction with other medications.

Pentoxifylline in diabetic kidney disease (VA PTXRx): protocol for a pragmatic randomised controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the most frequent cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the USA and worldwide. Recent experimental and clinical data suggest that the non-specific phosphodiesterase inhibitor pentoxifylline (PTX) may decrease progression of chronic kidney disease. However, a large-scale randomised clinical trial is needed to determine whether PTX can reduce ESRD and death in DKD. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Veterans Affairs (VA) PTXRx is a pragmatic, randomised, placebo-controlled multicentre VA Cooperative Study to test the hypothesis that PTX, when added to usual care, leads to a reduction in the time to ESRD or death in patients with type 2 diabetes with DKD when compared with usual care plus placebo. The study aims to enrol 2510 patients over a 4-year period with an additional up to 5-year follow-up to generate a total of 646 primary events. The primary objective of this study is to compare the time until ESRD or death (all-cause mortality) between participants randomised to PTX or placebo. Secondary endpoints will be: (1) health-related quality of life, (2) time to doubling of serum creatinine, (3) incidence of hospitalisations for congestive heart failure, (4) incidence of a three-point major adverse cardiovascular events composite (cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke), (5) incidence of peripheral vascular disease, (6) change in urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio from baseline to 6 months and (7) rate of annual change in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) during the study period. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study was approved by the VA Central Institutional Review Board (cIRB/18-36) and will be conducted in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice. The Hines Cooperative Studies Programme will finalise the study results, which will be published in accordance with the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials statement in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03625648.

Acute Kidney Injury Associated With Semaglutide.

Case reports of acute kidney injury in patients taking the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists exenatide and liraglutide have been reported. We report 2 patients with chronic kidney disease due to diabetic kidney disease who experienced rapid worsening of kidney function and increased proteinuria after being prescribed the GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide. In 1 patient, kidney biopsy showed advanced diffuse and nodular glomerulosclerosis accompanied by interstitial lymphoplasmacytic and eosinophilic infiltrate and evidence of acute tubular injury. At this time, the long-term outcomes of patients who experience acute kidney injury associated with GLP-1 receptor agonists is not known. We recommend that caution be used with these agents in patients with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease due to limited kidney reserve in the event of an adverse kidney event. Because most adverse kidney events have occurred in patients who experience adverse gastrointestinal symptoms, such patients should have laboratory tests and discontinuation of the medication if there is acute worsening of kidney function.

Proton-pump inhibitors associated with decreased urinary citrate excretion.

INTRODUCTION: Proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) may increase the risk of kidney stone formation, but the mechanism has not been elucidated. There is a paucity of literature evaluating the effects of PPIs on urinary metabolites and urine pH. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of nephrolithiasis patients treated at our institution and compared patients who were taking PPIs to those who were not at the time of their 24-h urine collections. Hierarchical multivariate linear regression was used to evaluate the independent relationship between PPI use and urinary mineral composition. RESULTS: We identified 301 consecutive patients, 88 (29%) of whom were taking PPIs at the time of their 24-h urine collections. Patients taking PPIs were older and more likely to have medical comorbidities associated with metabolic syndrome such as hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia (p < 0.01). Controlling for these factors, patients taking PPIs were found to have 12% lower 24-h urine citrate excretion (ß = - 0.12, ΔF = 4.24, p = 0.04). There were no other differences in urinary mineral composition between the groups. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that patients who take PPIs regularly may be at risk for decreased urinary citrate excretion. The consequent decrease in urinary citrate may become clinically significant for patients with other predisposing factors for hypocitraturia.

Targeting Inflammation in Diabetic Kidney Disease: Is There a Role for Pentoxifylline?

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the most common cause of ESKD in the United States and worldwide. Current treatment for DKD includes strict glycemic control and normalization of BP with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) blockade. Although RAAS blockers slow progression of disease, they do not generally prevent ESKD and none of the studies with these agents in DKD included patients who were nonproteinuric, which make up an increasingly large percentage of patients with diabetes now seen in clinical practice. Recent studies with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have shown beneficial renal effects, and the benefits of SGLT2 inhibitors likely extend to patients who are nonproteinuric. However, there remains a need to develop new therapies for DKD, particularly in those patients with advanced disease. A role of chronic low-grade inflammation in microvascular complications in patients with diabetes has now been widely accepted. Large clinical trials are being carried out with experimental agents such as bardoxolone and selonsertib that target inflammation and oxidative stress. The Food and Drug Administration-approved, nonspecific phosphodiesterase inhibitor pentoxifylline (PTX) has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects in both animal and human studies by inhibiting the production of proinflammatory cytokines. Small randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses indicate that PTX may have therapeutic benefits in DKD, raising the possibility that a clinically available drug may be able to be repurposed to treat this disease. A large, multicenter, randomized clinical trial to determine whether this agent can decrease time to ESKD or death is currently being conducted, but results will not be available for several years. At this time, the combination of RAAS blockade plus SGLT2 inhibition is considered standard of care for DKD, but it may be reasonable for clinicians to consider addition of PTX in patients whose disease continues to progress despite optimization of current standard-of-care therapies.

Low statin use in nondialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease in the absence of clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Both reduced glomerular filtration rate and increased urine albumin excretion, markers of chronic kidney disease (CKD), are associated with increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). However, CKD is not recognized as an ASCVD risk equivalent by most lipid guidelines. Statin medications, especially when combined with ezetimibe, significantly reduce ASCVD risk in patients with nondialysis-dependent CKD. Unless physicians recognize the heightened ASCVD risk in this population, statins may not be prescribed in the absence of clinical cardiovascular disease or diabetes, a recognized ASCVD risk equivalent. We examined statin use in adults with nondialysis-dependent CKD and examined whether the use differed in the presence of clinical ASCVD and diabetes. METHODS: This study ascertained statin use from pharmacy dispensing records during fiscal years 2012 and 2013 from the US Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. The study included 581 344 veterans aged ≥50 years with nondialysis-dependent CKD Stages 3-5 with no history of kidney transplantation or dialysis. The 10-year predicted ASCVD risk was calculated with the pooled risk equation. RESULTS: Of veterans with CKD, 62.1% used statins in 2012 and 55.4% used statins continuously over 2 years (2012-13). Statin use in 2012 was 76.2 and 75.5% among veterans with CKD and ASCVD or diabetes, respectively, but in the absence of ASCVD, diabetes or a diagnosis of hyperlipidemia, statin use was 21.8% (P < 0.001). The 10-year predicted ASCVD risk was ≥7.5% in 95.1% of veterans with CKD, regardless of diabetes status. CONCLUSIONS: Statin use is low in veterans with nondialysis-dependent CKD in the absence of ASCVD or diabetes despite high-predicted ASCVD risk. Future studies should examine other populations.

Statin use among Veterans with dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease.

INTRODUCTION: The benefits of statin medications in patients receiving maintenance dialysis remains controversial and clinical trials overall have shown no benefit. Potential side effects of statin medications include myalgias, myopathy, and memory loss and risk of side effects associated with statin medications increase with higher statin doses. We examined statin use and statin dose among Veterans with dialysis dependent CKD. Such information may help clinicians modulate medication use and reduce pill burden in appropriate patients. METHODS: This cross-sectional analysis ascertained medication utilization by linking records from the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA) Managerial Cost Accounting Pharmacy National Data Extracts and Medicare Part D during calendar year 2013 for Veterans with dialysis-dependent CKD enrolled in and/or using VA healthcare. The venue of dialysis and patient characteristics were ascertained by linking VA Medical SAS datasets, VA Fee Basis datasets (for non-VA care paid for by VA), Medicare claims and the United States Renal Data Systems patient core files. FINDINGS: We identified 18,494 Veterans with dialysis-dependent CKD who were enrolled in and/or used VA healthcare, had no history of kidney transplantation, and were alive on January 1, 2014. More than half (58.1%) of Veterans with dialysis-dependent CKD used statins and 35.7% of statin utilization was high dose. Statins were the third most commonly prescribed medication after beta blockers (64.8%) and phosphate binders (64.5%). DISCUSSION: Statins are a commonly prescribed medication among Veterans receiving maintenance dialysis and approximately one-third of statin utilization is high dose in this population. Future studies should examine patient preferences, comorbidities, and dialysis characteristics that impact the risks and benefits of statin use in order to identify those patients who will or will not benefit from continued statin use.

Diversity of the midstream urine microbiome in adults with chronic kidney disease.

PURPOSE: To examine the characteristics of the midstream urine microbiome in adults with stage 3-5 non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (CKD). METHODS: Patients with non-dialysis-dependent CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] < 60 ml/min/1.73 m2) and diuretic use were recruited from outpatient nephrology clinics. Midstream voided urine specimens were collected using the clean-catch method. The bacterial composition was determined by sequencing the hypervariable (V4) region of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene. Extraction negative controls (no urine) were included to assess the contribution of extraneous DNA from possible sources of contamination. Midstream urine microbiome diversity was assessed with the inverse Simpson, Chao and Shannon indices. The diversity measures were further examined by demographic characteristics and by comorbidities. RESULTS: The cohort of 41 women and 36 men with detectable bacterial DNA in their urine samples had a mean age of 71.5 years (standard deviation [SD] 7.9) years (range 60-91 years). The majority were white (68.0%) and a substantial minority were African-American (29.3%) The mean eGFR was 27.2 (SD 13.6) ml/min/1.73 m2. Most men (72.2%) were circumcised and 16.6% reported a remote history of prostate cancer. Many midstream voided urine specimens were dominated (> 50% reads) by the genera Corynebacterium (n = 11), Staphylococcus (n = 9), Streptococcus (n = 7), Lactobacillus (n = 7), Gardnerella (n = 7), Prevotella (n = 4), Escherichia_Shigella (n = 3), and Enterobacteriaceae (n = 2); the rest lacked a dominant genus. The samples had high levels of diversity, as measured by the inverse Simpson [7.24 (95% CI 6.76, 7.81)], Chao [558.24 (95% CI 381.70, 879.35)], and Shannon indices [2.60 (95% CI 2.51, 2.69)]. Diversity measures were generally higher in participants with urgency urinary incontinence and higher estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). After controlling for demographics and diabetes status, microbiome diversity was significantly associated with estimated eGFR (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The midstream voided urine microbiome of older adults with stage 3-5 non-dialysis-dependent CKD is diverse. Greater microbiome diversity is associated with higher eGFR.

Increasing Mortality in Adults With Diabetes and Low Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate in the Absence of Albuminuria.

OBJECTIVE: Improved blood pressure control and use of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers have altered the clinical presentation or phenotype of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in U.S. adults with diabetes. These changes may influence mortality. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) 1988-2006 were used to examine mortality trends in adults with diabetes, defined as physician diagnosis, fasting glucose ≥126 mg/dL, HbA1c >6.5% (48 mmol/mol), or use of glucose-lowering medications. Mortality trends by CKD phenotype (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio [ACR] level) were obtained via linkage with the National Death Index through 31 December 2011 while accounting for the complex survey design. RESULTS: From 1988 to 2006, adults with an eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 and an ACR <30 mg/g increased from ∼0.9 million (95% CI 0.7, 1.1) or 6.6% of the total population with diabetes during years 1988-1994 to 2.4 million (95% CI 1.9, 2.9) or 10.1% of the total population with diabetes during years 2007-2010. Mortality rates generally trended downward for adults with diabetes and an ACR ≥30 mg/g but increased in those with eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 and an ACR <30 mg/g from 35 deaths per 1,000 person-years (95% CI 22, 55) during years 1988-1994 to 51 deaths per 1,000 person-years (95% CI 33, 83) during years 2003-2006. CONCLUSIONS: ACR values are decreasing in U.S. adults with diabetes, but optimal management strategies are needed to reduce mortality in those with a low eGFR and an ACR <30 mg/g.

Renal Replacement Therapy and Incremental Hemodialysis for Veterans with Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease.

Each year approximately 13,000 Veterans transition to maintenance dialysis, mostly in the traditional form of thrice-weekly hemodialysis from the start. Among >6000 dialysis units nationwide, there are currently approximately 70 Veterans Affairs (VA) dialysis centers. Given this number of VA dialysis centers and their limited capacity, only 10% of all incident dialysis Veterans initiate treatment in a VA center. Evidence suggests that, among Veterans, the receipt of care within the VA system is associated with favorable outcomes, potentially because of the enhanced access to healthcare resources. Data from the United States Renal Data System Special Study Center "Transition-of-Care-in-CKD" suggest that Veterans who receive dialysis in a VA unit exhibit greater survival compared with the non-VA centers. Substantial financial expenditures arise from the high volume of outsourced care and higher dialysis reimbursement paid by the VA than by Medicare to outsourced providers. Given the exceedingly high mortality and abrupt decline in residual kidney function (RKF) in the first dialysis year, it is possible that incremental transition to dialysis through an initial twice-weekly hemodialysis regimen might preserve RKF, prolong vascular access longevity, improve patients' quality of life, and be a more patient-centered approach, more consistent with "personalized" dialysis. Broad implementation of incremental dialysis might also result in more Veterans receiving care within a VA dialysis unit. Controlled trials are needed to examine the safety and efficacy of incremental hemodialysis in Veterans and other populations; the administrative and health care as well as provider structure within the VA system would facilitate the performance of such trials.

Non-dialysis dependent chronic kidney disease is associated with high total and out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have documented the high costs of non-dialysis dependent chronic kidney disease (CKD) but out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures remain poorly explored. This study described total direct and out-of-pocket expenditures for adults with non-dialysis dependent CKD and compared expenditures with those for cancer or stroke. METHODS: This study used data from the 2011-2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a national survey of healthcare expenditures in the U.S. POPULATION: Expenditures were determined for adults with the following chronic diseases: CKD defined by 585 ICD9 codes (n = 52), cancer (colon, breast or bronchus/lung) (n = 870), or stroke (n = 1104). These represent adults who were aware of their conditions or visited a healthcare provider for the condition during the study period. Generalized linear models were used to estimate the marginal effects of CKD, cancer or stroke on adjusted expenditures compared to adults without CKD, cancer or stroke (n = 72,241) while controlling for demographics and co-morbidities and incorporating the sample weights of the complex survey design. RESULTS: The mean age for group with CKD, cancer or stroke was 65.5, 66.1, and 68.2 years, respectively, while mean age for group without CKD, cancer or stroke was 47.8 years. Median values of total direct and out of pocket healthcare expenditures ranged from as high as $12,877 (Interquartile Range [IQR] $5031-$19,710) and $1439 ($688-$2732), respectively, with CKD, to as low as $1189 (IQR $196-$4388) and $226 (IQR $20-$764) in the group without CKD, cancer or stroke. After adjusting for demographics and comorbidities, the adjusted difference in total direct healthcare expenditures was $4746 (95% CI $1775-$7718) for CKD, $8608 (95% CI $6167-$11,049) for cancer and $5992 (95% CI $4208-$7775) for stroke vs. group without CKD, cancer or stroke. Adjusted difference in out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures was highest for adults with CKD ($760; 95% CI 0-$1745) and was larger than difference noted for cancer ($419; 95% CI 158-679) or stroke ($246; 95% CI 87-406) relative to group without CKD, cancer or stroke. CONCLUSIONS: Total and out of pocket health expenditures for adults with non-dialysis dependent CKD are high and may be equal to or higher than expenditures incurred by adults with cancer or stroke.

Structured Exercise in Obese Diabetic Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), obesity, and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are generally physically inactive and may benefit from exercise. Our objective was to determine the effects of structured exercise on physical fitness, kidney function, endothelial function, inflammation, and body composition in such patients. METHODS: In this randomized, controlled trial, 36 male patients (age 49-81) were randomly assigned to exercise + diet management (n = 18) or diet alone (n = 18). Participants were eligible if they had type 2 DM, body mass index >30 kg/m2, CKD stages 2-4, and persistent proteinuria (>200 mg/g creatinine for >3 months). The exercise intervention was a 12-week (3 days per week) program of aerobic and resistance training followed by 40 weeks of home exercise. The primary outcome measure was change from baseline in urine protein to creatinine ratio (UPCR) at 12 and 52 weeks. RESULTS: Thirty-two participants completed the study (14 exercise + diet, 18 diet-alone group). The change from baseline in UPCR was slightly greater in the diet-alone group at 12 weeks but not at 52 weeks. Changes in both symptom-limited and constant-workrate treadmill times were significantly higher in the exercise + diet group at 12 weeks but not at 52 weeks. There were no significant differences in urine albumin to creatinine ratio, estimated glomerular filtration rate, endothelial function, inflammation, or body composition between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: In obese diabetic subjects with CKD, structured exercise improved exercise capacity but not body composition or renal function. This is a work of the US Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the USA. Foreign copyrights may apply. Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

Selecting SNPs informative for African, American Indian and European Ancestry: application to the Family Investigation of Nephropathy and Diabetes (FIND).

BACKGROUND: The presence of population structure in a sample may confound the search for important genetic loci associated with disease. Our four samples in the Family Investigation of Nephropathy and Diabetes (FIND), European Americans, Mexican Americans, African Americans, and American Indians are part of a genome- wide association study in which population structure might be particularly important. We therefore decided to study in detail one component of this, individual genetic ancestry (IGA). From SNPs present on the Affymetrix 6.0 Human SNP array, we identified 3 sets of ancestry informative markers (AIMs), each maximized for the information in one the three contrasts among ancestral populations: Europeans (HAPMAP, CEU), Africans (HAPMAP, YRI and LWK), and Native Americans (full heritage Pima Indians). We estimate IGA and present an algorithm for their standard errors, compare IGA to principal components, emphasize the importance of balancing information in the ancestry informative markers (AIMs), and test the association of IGA with diabetic nephropathy in the combined sample. RESULTS: A fixed parental allele maximum likelihood algorithm was applied to the FIND to estimate IGA in four samples: 869 American Indians; 1385 African Americans; 1451 Mexican Americans; and 826 European Americans. When the information in the AIMs is unbalanced, the estimates are incorrect with large error. Individual genetic admixture is highly correlated with principle components for capturing population structure. It takes ~700 SNPs to reduce the average standard error of individual admixture below 0.01. When the samples are combined, the resulting population structure creates associations between IGA and diabetic nephropathy. CONCLUSIONS: The identified set of AIMs, which include American Indian parental allele frequencies, may be particularly useful for estimating genetic admixture in populations from the Americas. Failure to balance information in maximum likelihood, poly-ancestry models creates biased estimates of individual admixture with large error. This also occurs when estimating IGA using the Bayesian clustering method as implemented in the program STRUCTURE. Odds ratios for the associations of IGA with disease are consistent with what is known about the incidence and prevalence of diabetic nephropathy in these populations.

Urinary incontinence and diuretic avoidance among adults with chronic kidney disease.

PURPOSE: Diuretics remain an important medication for hypertension management among adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but diuretics may also worsen urinary symptoms, especially urinary incontinence (UI). This single-center pilot study examined the prevalence of UI among adults age ≥60 years with CKD using diuretics and assessed diuretic avoidance due to urinary symptoms. METHODS: Patients with non-dialysis-dependent CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 ml/min/1.73 m(2)) and diuretic use were recruited from outpatient nephrology clinics. Urinary symptoms and diuretic avoidance were assessed using standardized questionnaires. RESULTS: The cohort of 44 women and 54 men had a mean age of 71.8 (8.4) years, and urgency-UI, stress-UI and mixed-UI (the presence of both urgency-UI and stress-UI) were reported by 44.9 % (n = 44), 36.7 % (n = 36) and 26.5 % (n = 26), respectively. Nocturia was noted in 68 % (n = 67). Overall, 15.3 % (6 men and 9 women) reported diuretic avoidance. Avoidance of diuretics was 27.3 % (n = 12), 25.5 % (n = 9) and 34.6 % (n = 9) among participants with urgency-UI, stress-UI and mixed-UI, respectively, while only 6.8 % (n = 3) of participants without any UI reported diuretic avoidance. After adjusting for age, sex and diuretic type (loop vs. others), both urgency-UI (odds ratio 5.9 95 % CI 1.5-22.8) and mixed-UI (odds ratio 5.7; 95 % CI 1.6-19.9) were significantly associated with diuretic avoidance compared to participants without urgency-UI, or mixed-UI, respectively. Stress-UI and nocturia were not significantly associated with diuretic avoidance. CONCLUSIONS: UI is common among older adults with CKD receiving diuretics. Patients with urgency-UI are more likely to avoid diuretics.

Teaching renal physiology in the 21st century: focus on acid-base physiology.

A thorough understanding of renal physiology, and in particular acid-base physiology, is essential for an understanding of nephrology. Difficulties in both teaching and learning this material are major impediments to attracting medical trainees into nephrology. Approaches to teaching renal physiology include collaborative learning, computer-based learning and laboratory-based learning. Computer-based learning applications are becoming increasingly popular and can be useful, but are most successful when they incorporate interactive components. Students also note that the presence of a live instructor remains desirable. Some concepts of renal and in particular acid-base physiology can be taught using structured self-experimentation, a practice with a long tradition that possibly should be revitalized.

Controversies Regarding Lipid Management and Statin Use for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction in Patients With CKD.

Adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at heightened risk for dying of cardiovascular disease. Results from randomized clinical trials of statin drugs versus placebo demonstrate that statin drugs or statin plus ezetimibe reduce the absolute risk for coronary heart disease and mortality among adults with non-dialysis-dependent CKD. The Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes 2013 clinical practice guideline for lipid management in CKD recommends that adults 50 years or older with non-dialysis-dependent CKD be treated with a statin or statin plus ezetimibe regardless of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. However, at least 9 guidelines published during the last 5 years address lipid management for primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and not all guidelines address the utility of lipid-lowering therapy in adults with CKD. Because most patients with CKD receive most of their clinical care from non-nephrologists, differences in recommendations for lipid-lowering therapy for cardiovascular disease prevention may negatively affect the clinical care of adults with CKD and cause confusion for both patients and providers. This review addresses the identification and management of lipid levels in patients with CKD and discusses the existing controversies regarding testing and treatment of lipid levels in the CKD population.