[Dispositional optimism in patients on chronic haemodialysis and its possible influence on their clinical course]. / Optimismo disposicional en pacientes en hemodiálisis y su influencia en el curso de la enfermedad.

INTRODUCTION: Dispositional optimism is a personality trait significantly associated with the use of positive adaptive coping strategies as well as with perceived psychological and physical well-being, and it appears to be an important predictor of illness. OBJECTIVES: To analyse if dispositional optimism is significantly associated with the number of hospital admissions of our chronic haemodialysis patients, as well as its relationship with perceived state of health. METHODS: We studied 239 patients on chronic haemodialysis. Patients were categorised into two groups according to the variables: hospital admissions/no. of admissions in the last year and dispositional optimism (DO). We used the following variables and questionnaires: 1) Dispositional O/P using the Spanish-validated cross-cultural adaptation of the revised version of the Life Orientation Test (LOT-R) (Scheier, 1994): higher scores mean a higher degree of dispositional optimism. 2) Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) using the different aspects of the COOP/WONCA (CW) charts and its total score. In this case higher scores mean lower HRQoL. 3) Modified Charlson Comorbidity Index (mCCI). 4) Age, gender, and time on dialysis. RESULTS: Mean age was 64.8 ± 14.3 years; median time on dialysis 2.9 years (range: 0-32); and median LOT-R 21 (range 6-30). Patients considered DO had a lower risk of hospital admissions than pessimists (DP) (OR: 0.55; IC 95%: 0.32-0.94; P<.05). PD Patients that were admitted in the last year showed a significantly lower score on LOT-R (they were more pessimistic) than those that had no hospital admissions (19.4 ± 5.7 vs 22.3 ± 4.6; P=.001). We found no significant differences between admitted and not admitted patients in age, gender, time on haemodialysis and comorbidity. Admitted patients showed worse HRQoL (higher scores in total CW) than those that were not (Total CW: 22.37 vs 19.42; P<.001). PD patients had significantly higher scores than OD patients in all COOP-WONCA aspects except in aspect 1 (physical fitness) and 5 (change in health). CONCLUSIONS: Pessimistic personality trait is significantly associated with hospital admissions in chronic haemodialysis patients, regardless of age, gender and comorbidity. Optimistic patients perceived a better state of health.

Optimismo disposicional en pacientes en hemodiálisis y su influencia en el curso de la enfermedad / Dispositional optimism in patients on chronic haemodialysis and its possible influence on their clinical course

Introducción: El optimismo disposicional es un rasgo de personalidad que se relaciona significativamente con el empleo de estrategias positivas de afrontamiento y con el grado de bienestar psicológico y físico percibidos por el paciente, y que parece ser, también, un importante predictor de enfermedad. Objetivo: Analizar si el optimismo disposicional guarda relación con el número de ingresos hospitalarios que han presentado en el último año los enfermos renales crónicos estadio Vd en nuestros centros. Material y métodos: Se estudiaron 239 pacientes en hemodiálisis que fueron categorizados en dos grupos respecto a las variables ingresos /no ingresos hospitalarios en el último año y optimismo/pesimismo disposicional. Se utilizaron los siguientes cuestionarios y variables: 1) O/P disposicional mediante el LOT–R de Scheier (1994) en su versión española: a mayor puntuación, mayor grado de optimismo disposicional. 2) Calidad de vida relacionada con la salud (CVRS) mediante las láminas COOP/WONCA: a mayor puntuación peor calidad de vida referida. 3) Índice de comorbilidad de Charlson (ICM). 4) Edad, tiempo en HD y sexo. Resultados: La edad media fue de 64,8 ± 14,3 años; la mediana de tiempo en hemodiálisis de 2,9 años (rango: 0–32), y la mediana en el LOT–R 21 (rango: 6–30). Los pacientes optimistas (OD) presentaban un menor riesgo de ser ingresados que los pesimistas (PD) (OR: 0,55; IC 95%: 0,32–0,94; p <0,05) y los pacientes con ingresos hospitalarios (..) (AU)

Introduction: Dispositional optimism is a personality trait significantly associated with the use of positive adaptive coping strategies as well as with perceived psychological and physical well–being, and it appears to be an important predictor of illness. Objectives: To analyse if dispositional optimism is significantly associated with the number of hospital admissions of our chronic haemodialysis patients, as well as its relationship with perceived state of health. Methods: We studied 239 patients on chronic haemodialysis. Patients were categorised into two groups according to the variables: hospital admissions/no. of admissions in the last year and dispositional optimism (DO). We used the following variables and questionnaires: 1) Dispositional O/P using the Spanish–validated cross–cultural adaptation of the revised version of the Life Orientation Test (LOT–R) (Scheier, 1994): higher scores mean a higher degree of dispositional optimism. 2) Health–related quality of life (HRQoL) using the different aspects of the COOP/WONCA (CW) charts and its total score. In this case higher scores mean lower HRQoL. 3) Modified Charlson Comorbidity Index (mCCI). 4) Age, gender, and time on dialysis. Results: Mean age was 64.8±14.3 years; median time on dialysis 2.9 years (range: 0–32); and median LOT–R 21 (range 6–30). Patients considered DO had a lower risk of hospital admissions than pessimists (..) (AU)

[Strongyloides stercoralis infection in renal transplant recipients]. / Infección por Strongyloides stercoralis en pacientes trasplantados renales.

We present two cases of strongyloides stercoralis infection in renal transplant recipients in our centre. We describe clinical presentation characteristics, treatment and resolution.

[Analysis of variability in determining intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) according to the method used to process the sample]. / Análisis de la variabilidad en la determinación de la hormona paratiroidea (PTH-i) según el método empleado para procesar la muestra.

BACKGROUND: The measurement of i-PTH circulating is not easy due to its analytical variablity. Variability that appears in the process that goes from the sample collection to the final result determination. There are several important aspects that can influence within the pre-test variability: type of sample (serum o plasma), temperature, time elapses from blood extraction to freezing and from freezing to i-PTH quantification. Blood coming from centres far from our laboratory do not always meet the required processing conditions. Our aim was to study the stability of i-PTH with varying conditions of temperature and time until freezing in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). METHODS: We have analyzed 294 blood samples of 49 patients with chronic kidney disease (18 transplantated patients (36.7%) and 31 patients in haemodyalisis (63.3%)). The blood samples were collected using tubes treated with ethylenediaminotetraacetic acid (EDTA); these samples were subjected to different conditions of temperature and time before they were frozen, constituting 6 groups: blood centrifuged and plasma immediately frozen (group A or reference group); blood maintained 1 hour at room temperature and plasma stored at 2-8 masculineC during 0, 8 and 24 hours (groups B,C,D); blood maintained 3 hours at room temperature and plasma stored at 2-8 masculineC during 0 and 8 hours (groups E,F). The intact PTH (i-PTH) was measured using the immunoradiometric assay (IRMA Total Intact Scantibodies assay). We have analyzed the differences between the PTH-i mean values in the referenced groud and the others. We have applied the tests of homogeneity variance and normality and we have perform a comparation by pairs with the t-test including the Bonferroni correction. RESULTS: The mean value of intact-PTH in the referente Group was 202.5+/-199.72 pg/ml. The means values of intact-PTH in the other groups were 196 +/- 203.23 pg/ml, 202.8 +/- 200.2 pg/ml, 200.06 +/- 194.87 pg/ml, 204.08 +/- 204.073 pg/ml, 197.94 +/- 182.31 pg/ml. The results were practically identical for each group. We did not find important differences with respect to the reference group (p = 0.87, p = 0,99, p = 0,95, p = 0,96, p = 0,90 when comparing with groups 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a y 3b). CONCLUSIONS: The use of EDTA maintain the PTH stability during a longer period without the necessity of freezing the samples immediately. These results can help to state strategies to management the samples in patients with ERC.

Induction treatment with low-dose thymoglobulin or basiliximab in renal transplants from older donors.

Transplantation of kidneys from older donors is followed by an increase in delayed graft function (DGF) and acute rejection episodes (ARE). In these circumstances, induction treatment, whether with antithymocyte globulin or with interleukin-2 receptor blockers, may delay the introduction of calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) with effective prevention of ARE. We examined the efficacy and safety of induction treatment with 2 low doses of thymoglobulin compared with 2 doses of basiliximab. A group of 27 patients were treated with thymoglobulin and another 36 with basiliximab. CNI introduction was delayed until day 3 posttransplantation. The thymoglobulin group received 2 doses of 1.25 mg/kg on alternate days and the basiliximab group 2 doses of 20 mg. A trend to a lower incidence of DGF was observed in the thymoglobulin group (33% vs 55.6%; P = .08), with lower levels of serum creatinine on days 7 (P = .02) and 14 (P = .02) posttransplantation. No patient in the thymoglobulin group experienced ARE, but 11 patients (30.6%) in the basiliximab group did (P < .001), and 5 needed rescue treatment with thymoglobulin. We found no differences in the incidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease (P = .945), admission due to infections (P = .274), or neoplasia (P = .340), or differences in graft (P = .69) and patient (P = .21) survivals at 1 and 3 years. Low-dose thymoglobulin was more effective at preventing DGF and ARE in renal transplant recipients of organs from older donors, with no differences in infectious complications or graft and patient survivals.