Nephrotic syndrome due to focal segmental glomerulosclerosis complicating scleroderma: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Systemic scleroderma (SSc) is an insidious autoimmune connective tissue disorder with multiorgan involvement. Renal involvement is one of the important causes of morbidity and mortality in scleroderma; however, nephrotic syndrome is reported rarely in association with SSc. We present a patient with SSc who developed focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) as a complication of scleroderma. CASE PRESENTATION: A 59 year old Caucasian female patient, with a known history of diffuse systemic sclerosis from 8 years, presented to our clinic with symptoms of anasarca and weight gain. Her physical examination was unremarkable except for periorbital and extremity edema. Her biochemistry assessment revealed decreased serum albumin levels and elevated serum creatinine levels. A renal biopsy was performed, which showed histopathological patterns of FSGS type of nephrotic syndrome. After administration of high doses of steroid and rituximab in the course of her treatment for 6 months, her symptoms and proteinuria were improved without the occurrence of scleroderma renal crises. CONCLUSION: SSc is a complex multisystemic autoimmune disorder. SRC is the most prominent renal involvement in SSc, but other renal pathologies may also occur. Each patient should be precisely investigated since managing these renal conditions can differ significantly. Nephrotic syndrome is a rare complication of SSc, which could be managed with prompt diagnosis and steroid administration.

Endothelial function assessment by flow-mediated dilation of the brachial artery in acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease.

Background: Endothelial dysfunction has a significant role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular events in patients with kidney dysfunction. The present study aimed to compare the level of endothelial dysfunction in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and acute kidney injury (AKI) by brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) technique. Also, we sought to find whether this non-invasive technique may assist in accurately distinguishing the acute or chronic nature of kidney failure in patients presenting with uremia for the first time. Methods: Demographic and medical characteristics, and laboratory and renal ultrasonography data of the patients with AKI and CKD were collected and compared with a control group. Brachial artery FMD was measured using a Toshiba aplio 300 device with a 7.5 MHz linear probe. Results: In a total of 175 patients with a mean (SD) age of 55.96(15.54) years, FMD% was significantly lower in the CKD and AKI patients compared to the control group (Mean±SD: 16.28%±10.52%), 16.28 %±4.35%, and 24.24±5.71, respectively, p<0.001). Among the different causes of AKI, contrast-induced nephropathy (10.78%±1.75%), volume depletion (14.87%±1.22%), and post-renal AKI (15.96%±1.54%) had the lowest levels of FMD. Also, a significant correlation between FMD and eGFR (r=0.26, P<0.001), serum Hb (r=0.18, P=0.013), Na (r=0.19, P=0.011), BUN (r=-0.21, P=0.005) and Cr (r=- 0.13, P=0.084) was reported. Conclusion: Compared to the control group, CKD and AKI patients showed greater levels of endothelial dysfunction as evidenced by lower brachial artery FMD. However, the FMD technique did not appear to be a practical method in differentiating CKD and AKI in patients presenting with uremia for the first time.

The impact of underlying diseases-related drugs on the chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus in hemodialysis patients.

Background: Uremic pruritus or chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus (CKD-aP) is a frequent compromising symptom in end-stage renal disease. Despite the little attention paid to drugs used among hemodialysis (HD) patients, investigating medications used in this population of patients and examining the status of CKD-aP may lead to the identification of medications that improve or worsen the pruritus condition. We aimed to assess the role of underlying diseases-related drugs on CKD-aP in HD patients. Materials and Methods: We performed a case - control study on HD patients aged over 18 years old. The demographic data and clinical parameters including HD parameters, drug history, dermatologic assessments, and laboratory examination were assessed. Results: We compared 128 patients with CKD-aP as cases and 109 patients without CKD-aP as controls. Cases were on the longer course of dialysis (44.69 ± 43.24 months for cases vs. 38.87 ± 50.73 months for controls; P = 0.02). In multiple analyses of variables related to CKD-aP, backward LR logistic regression revealed that only atorvastatin (P = 0.036) was considered to be a predictive factor associated with CKD-aP. Thus, the use of atorvastatin reduced the index of CKD-aP (95% confidence interval: 0.256-0.954, odd's Ratio = 0.494). Conclusion: Atorvastatin was associated with decreased frequencies of CKD-aP among HD patients in our study. This knowledge may guide further clinical trials to evaluate atorvastatin's immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects on the CKD-aP in HD populations.

COVID-19 in renal transplant recipients and general population: a comparative study of clinical, laboratory, and radiological features, severity, and outcome.

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has led to millions of deaths worldwide. Kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) are a fragile population due to their immunosuppressed status. However, there are limited studies available comparing this population with the general population regarding clinical symptoms, and laboratory and imaging features as well as disease severity and clinical outcomes. METHODS: A total of 24 KTRs and 40 patients from the general population (control group) were enrolled after applying exclusion criteria. Clinical symptoms, laboratory values, and lung involvement patterns in high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) were compared between KTRs with COVID-19 and their counterparts from the general population. Moreover, the category of disease severity and adverse outcomes such as intensive care unit (ICU) admission, mechanical ventilation (MV), and mortality rate were also compared between these two groups. RESULTS: Hypertension was significantly higher among KTRs. Dyspnea was significantly more among the control group (P = 0.045). There was no significant difference in the rest of clinical symptoms (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in CT features as well, except pleural effusion, which was more prevalent in the control group. A lower absolute lymphocytic count (ALC) and platelet count were observed in KTRs. Renal transplant recipients (RTRs) had a higher elevation in creatinine level than their counterparts. The ICU admission, MV, duration of hospital stay, and mortality as adverse outcomes were not significantly different between the KTR and control groups. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, there was no significant difference in the severity and risk of adverse outcomes, including MV, ICU admission, and mortality between KTRs under chronic immunosuppression and the control group.

The effectiveness of training on daily progress note writing by medical interns.

INTRODUCTION: There is no formal education or training course about daily progress note writing in Iranian medical interns' curriculum. The current study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a training intervention on daily progress note writing by Iranian medical interns. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study (pre- and post-test) was conducted on 150 medical interns selected through the census method at Razi Hospital of Rasht, north of Iran from October-2018 to May-2019. In the baseline, daily progress notes written by 150 medical interns were assessed using a Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan (SOAP)-based questionnaire by the expert panel. Content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts and internal consistency was determined using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. In the intervention phase, training sessions (4 one-hour sessions) on how to write the daily progress note, based on SOAP format and its importance, were held for the interns. All medical interns were given a week to meet the SOAP standards. Then, the same expert panel reviewed and assessed the newly written daily progress notes of the same medical interns. Finally, the scores from the evaluation of progress note writing, before and after the intervention, were compared with paired sample t-test. RESULTS: The mean age of the medical interns was 23.1±5.2 years. The majority of them were male (56%). There was a significant improvement in all SOAP notes' components written by medical interns between the pre- and post-intervention periods (general rules: 52.7±24.5 vs. 85.4±18.2, P<0.001; subjective: 21.2±18.3 vs. 61.7±24.3, P<0.001; objective: 25.3±18.3 vs. 71.3±25.2, P<0.001; assessment: 10.7±13.0 vs. 51.4±29.6, P<0.001; plan: 11.2±15.2 vs. 49.6±27.5, P<0.001; total: 21.9±13.0 vs. 61.8±23.0, P<0.001). But the scores were still far from the desirable level after the training intervention. CONCLUSION: The finding of the present research suggests that a training intervention can lead to some improvements in the daily progress notes written by Iranian medical interns.

Incidence and Risk Factors of Post-renal Transplantation Malignancies in North of Iran, A 20-year Experience.

INTRODUCTION: The main causes of death in kidney transplant recipients are cardiovascular diseases and malignancy. This study aimed to determine the types of post-transplant malignancy, incidence, and related factors in renal transplant recipients referred to Razi Hospital in Rasht, Iran. METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 549 kidney transplant recipients between 1998 and 2018. Patient-, transplant-, and medication-related factors and pathology reports were recorded in the check list. Chi-square, T-test and Logistic Regression were used to investigate the effect of variables. Malignancy-person-year incidence rate was calculated using survival tables and Kaplan-Mayer analysis. RESULTS: 43 (7.8%) recipients had malignancies. The most common site of malignancy was the skin (53.5%). Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer (NMSC) was the most common cancer (32.6%) followed by Kaposi sarcoma (20.9%). The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) of post-transplant malignancies in renal transplant recipients was 26.9 times the malignancies in Guilan province and 21.7 times the malignancies in Iran. Cox proportional hazard models identified older age at the time of transplantation and history of azathioprine consumption seems to be associated with risk for post-transplant malignancy. CONCLUSION: The most common malignancies in these people were non-melanoma skin cancer, Kaposi sarcoma and then GI malignancies. According to the information obtained in this study, regular periodic examinations of kidney transplant recipients for early detection of malignancy is important.