Microvascular and macrovascular complications in diabetic nephropathy patients referred to nephrology clinic.

To evaluate the diabetic complications and fate of diabetic nephropathy in Saudi population, we studied 184 diabetic nephropathy (DN) patients who were referred to nephrology clinic of King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from January 2003-June 2006. The patients had mean age of 61.9 +/- 13.1 years, included 128 (69.6%) males, and were followed up for a mean period of 10.2 +/- 1.5 years. The mean duration of diabetes mellitus (DM) was 19.5 +/- 5.8 years, and duration of nephropathy was 7.7 +/- 3.3 years. Family history of DN was documented in 52 (28.2%) patients. At initial visit, the mean systolic blood pressure was 164 +/- 14.5 mmHg, the mean diastolic blood pressure was 97.9 +/- 10.4 mmHg. Thirty-seven (20%) patients had normal BMI, 88 (48%) were overweight, while 55 (30%) were obese. Mean creatinine clearance was 51.7 +/- 26.3 mL/min, 24 hrs urinary proteins 1.99 +/- 2.48 gm/day, HbA1C 9.2 +/- 1.8 %, triglyceride 2.1 +/- 1.3 mmol/L, and cholesterol 5.17 +/- 1.54 mmol/L. Diabetic complications included angiography proven coronary artery disease in 106 (57.6 %) patients, stroke in 21 (11.4%), myocardial infarction (MI) in 27(14.6%), angina in 87 (47.2 %), retinopathy in 82 (44.5%), Blindness in 3 (1.6%), peripheral vascular disease in 121 (65.7%), Neuropathy in 123 (66.8%), hypertension in178 (96.7%), diabetic foot in 25 (13.5%), Amputation in 10 (5.4%), and end-stage renal disease in 70 (38%). Total of 13 (7.05%) patients died in the hospital. Thirty-seven percent of patients developed > 6 concomitant complications. 28% developed 5, 17% developed 4, and the rest developed < 3. DN was relatively refractory to therapy and progressive; 123 (66.8%) patients doubled their serum creatinine in 3.59 +/- 2.88 years, 32 (17.3%) maintained stable renal function, 136 (73.6 %) deteriorated, and 12 (6.52%) improved. we conclude that the prevalence of diabetic complications is high among Saudi patients, and many had multiple complications. Baseline creatinine clearance and proteinuria, high systolic blood pressure, advanced age, and longer duration of diabetes were the most significant risk factors for developing complications.

Serum cystatin C as a marker of renal function in patients with acute renal failure.

Serum creatinine level is the traditionally used tool to detect changes in renal function. Serum cystatin C (CC) has been suggested to be an equally effective marker of renal function. We measured the serum levels of creatinine and CC in 73 patients with acute renal failure (ARF) and 300 age and sex matched healthy controls. The serum CC was measured by particle enhanced nephlometric immunoassay (PENIA). As expected, the serum creatinine and CC levels were significantly higher in ARF patients than the healthy controls and serum CC levels correlated significantly with serum creatinine (r = 0.47, p< 0.0001). This correlation further increased for multiple measurements, (r = 0.51, p< 0.0001. No gender difference was noted. Serum CC also correlated significantly with calculated GFR. Correlation of serum CC with serum creatinine and calculated GFR was much greater in patients with deteriorating renal function, compared to patients with improving renal function (p< 0.0001). Our study further suggests that the serum CC is a good marker of renal function in ARF patients, especially those with worsening renal function. Further larger studies are needed to evaluate its role in detecting early ARF and institute possible intervention.

Dialyzer reuse impact on dialyzer efficiency, patient morbidity and mortality and cost effectiveness.

Since the introduction of dialyzer reuse more than three decades ago, several studies have reported its safety, efficacy and cost effectiveness. Reuse of hemodialyzer was prospectively studied in ten chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients recruited from the renal unit, the King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for three months. During the study period, 66 dialyzers were used for 408 sessions of HD, with a mean reuse of 6.2 +/- 5.3 episodes per dialyser, the mean of maximum reuse episodes being 13.7 +/- 8.0. The urea reduction ratio was maintained between 73 +/- 5% at baseline to 71.2 +/- 9.03% (p=0.53) at the maximum reuse. Similarly phosphate reduction with each HD session was maintained; mean decrease in phosphate levels was 0.67 mmol/L. Significant increase in heparin requirement was noted; however, the risk of bleeding was not increased. Hematocrit levels increased from 30.4 +/- 4.1% to 33.2 +/- 3.6% at the end of the study (p=0.6). Albumin leak in dialysate decreased with each reuse; baseline 8.27 +/- 7.93 mg/L to 2.8 +/- 0.4 mg/L at maximum reuse (p=0.04). Serum albumin levels remained stable. No short-term adverse effects on patients' morbidity and mortality were noted. Total cost savings of 53% was achieved with the reuse of dialyzers, excluding capital equipment used for preparation for reuse. In conclusion, dialyzer reuse seems to be safe and may provide an economical and efficient dialysis. Studies involving larger number of patients is required to validate this observation.

Effect of intravenous cyclophosphamide pulse therapy on renal functions and histopathology in patients with severe lupus nephritis.

Despite the wide use of intravenous cyclophosphamide (IC) in lupus nephritis (LN), there are few published studies showing the effect of this treatment on renal histology. In this prospective study, we report the effect of IC on the evolution of histopathologic features in successive renal biopsies in patients with LN. Thirty patients with class IV or V LN were started on IC (10-15 mg/kg) administered once every month for six months followed by three monthly for another six doses making a total of two years of therapy. The clinical course of the disease, serum creatinine and 24 hours urinary protein and creatinine clearance were tested at entry and subsequently during each follow-up visit. Repeat renal biopsy was performed after completion of two years of therapy. The mean serum creatinine of the study patients was 166.3 + 42 tmol/L at entry which decreased to 104 + 46.4 tmol/L at two years (P + 2.4 g at entry to 1.39 + 1.54 g at two years (P + 31 ml/min at the start of treatment to 64 + 32 ml/min at two years of therapy (P 200 tmol/L, of whom six progressed to variable degrees of chronic renal failure. Repeat renal biopsy was performed in 21 patients. The original biopsy of these patients showed class IV in 17 and class V in four patients. On repeat biopsy, five of class IV disease had progressed to advanced sclerosis, four to class V, and five remained unchanged. The remaining three patients with class IV LN changed to one each of class I, II and III. Of the four patients with class V, one progressed to advanced sclerosis, one changed to class III and two remained the same. There was a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in the activity index although there was a significant increase in the chronicity index (P < 0.001). Multivariat analysis for possible risk factors for progression to chronic renal failure showed initial high serum creatinine to be a powerful predictor of renal failure. In conclusion, IC pulse therapy is effective in improving or stabilizing renal function in patients with class IV or V LN. The only poor prognostic determinant observed was higher initial serum creatinine value.

Intermittent oral versus intravenous alfacalcidol in dialysis patients.

Patients with end-stage renal failure (ESRF) on maintenance dialysis, commonly develop secondary hyperparathyroidism and renal osteodystrophy (ROD). Alfacalcidol, taken orally or administered intravenously, is known to reverse these complications. In this study, 19 ESRF patients, who were on dialysis (13 on hemodialysis and six on peritoneal dialysis) for longer than six months and having serum parathormone levels at least four times normal and serum calcium less than 2.1 mmol/L, were randomly allocated to treatment with oral or intravenous (i.v.) alfacalcidol for a period of 12 months. There were six patients on hemodialysis (HD) and three on peritoneal dialysis (PD) in the oral treatment group while in the i.v. group there were seven patients on HD and three on PD. Clinical and serial biochemical assessments showed no statistically significant difference between the orally- and i.v.-treated patients in terms of suppressing secondary hyperparathyroidism and osteodystrophy. However, patients with features of mild ROD on bone histology, had more satisfactory changes in biochemistry when compared to others. Our results further support the use of intermittent oral alfacalcidol in ESRF patients because of its cost effectiveness, ease of administration and convenience, especially for peritoneal dialysis patients.

Prevalence of glomerular diseases: king khalid university hospital, saudi arabia.

To obtain a more recent and comprehensive insight into the prevalence of glomerular diseases in our patient population, medical records of 200 patients with biopsy proven glomerulonephritis (GN), between January 1994 and June 1999, at the King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were analyzed. Primary glomerular disease was found to be the most prevalent, accounting for 63.5% of all glomerular diseases. Among primary glomerular diseases, focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) was the most common histological lesion (34.6%) and was associated with a high prevalence of hypertension (86.4%), nephrotic syndrome (68.18%), hematuria (63.6%) and renal functional impairment (27.3%). Mesangioproliferative GN was the second most common lesion (25.1%) followed by mesangiocapillary GN (15.7%), IgA nephropathy (10.2%), and minimal change disease (8.5%). Amongst secondary glomerular diseases, lupus nephritis was the most prevalent (24.5%). In conclusion, primary glomerular diseases constituted the commonest group encountered and the prevalence of FSGS was quite high with male sex and young adults predominating. FSGS was also associated with a high prevalence of end-stage renal disease. Further collaborative studies are necessary to explore the predisposing factors and associations of glomerular disease, especially FSGS.

Living unrelated renal transplant: outcome and issues.

Living unrelated transplantation (LURT) is emerging as a practical option in renal transplantation due to shortage of living related and cadaver donors. We report a six-years (December 1991 to December 1996) follow-up of 60 LURT patients. The majority of these patients (95%) were transplanted outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 37 in India, 14 in Egypt, five in the USA and one in Pakistan. Only three patients (emotionally related) were transplanted in Saudi Arabia. Before transplantation, 50 (83.4%) patients were on chronic hemodialysis, three (5%) on peritoneal dialysis and three (5%) were transplanted pre-emptively. Post-operatively, the majority of the study patients were on three drug immunosuppressive therapy. One and five year graft survival was 93.0% and 59.6%, while patient survival at one and three years was 93.7% and 81%, respectively. Surgical complications included lymphocele in 10% of the study patients, urinary leak in 8.3%, and bleeding from the vascular anastomosis in 6.6%. There were eight episodes of acute rejection in eight (13.3%) patients and all episodes were successfully treated; two patients required monoclonal anti-lymphocyte antibodies (OKT3). Eleven (18.3%) patients developed chronic rejection, which resulted in the loss of ten (90%) allografts. Infection was the commonest cause for hospital admission; urinary tract infection (UTI) being responsible for 40% of admissions. Three patients had Cytomegalovirus pneumonia, one had Pneumocystis Carinii pneumonia and one had candida pneumonia. Two (3%) patients developed Kaposi's sarcoma. We conclude that LURT can help in overcoming the shortage of organs for transplant, however, commercial transplantion in developing countries is associated with high morbidity and mortality.

Glomerulonephritis in saudi arabia: a review.

Glomerulonephritis (GN) is one of the leading causes of end-stage renal disease. A good understanding of its pattern and prevalence as well as exploration of effective therapeutic strategies for protecting the glomerulus, would have tremendous impact on public health. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), focal and segmental glomerulo sclerosis (FSGS) is the commonest type of primary glomerular diseases (PGD) encountered in clinical practice. Its prevalence varies from less than 4% in Gizan, in the southern part of KSA, to approximately 35% in Riyadh, central Saudi Arabia. In our experience, the nephrotic syndrome was the commonest mode of presentation of FSGS. Response to corticosteroid therapy is generally poor and the mortality rate is high. Mesangioproliferative GN is the second most common GN constituting up to 25% of PGD in our experience. Other researchers from different parts of the Kingdom, however, have given prevalence rates ranging from 8 to 57.1%. The reported prevalence of Immunoglobulin-A nephropathy (IgAN) in KSA ranges from 5.8% to 13.6%. It is more common in the elderly, and men are affected more often than women. In contrast to KSA, IgAN is the commonest PGD in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. Membranous GN (MGN) is less common in KSA than encountered elsewhere, the prevalence ranging from 3.9 to 21.8%. Nephropathy secondary to systemic diseases are also common in KSA. Lupus nephritis (LN) accounted for 48.5% of secondary glomerular diseases (SGD) with the combination of WHO classes III and IV (aggressive types of LN) accounting for 56% of all patients. LN is another disease where differences in racial susceptibility may account for the uneven distribution. Post-streptococcal GN seems to be declining in frequency in KSA, the reported prevalence ranging from 2.7% to 2.9%.

Hepatitis G virus (HGV) infection in Saudi dialysis patients and healthy controls.

BACKGROUND: Viral hepatitis is a global health problem with a high mortality rate. End stage renal disease (ESRD) patients have a high prevalence of Hepatitis B and C virus infection. Present study was done to identify the prevalence and course of a new isolate Hepatitis G virus (HGV) infection in Saudi dialysis patients. METHODS: The pattern of viral hepatitis infection (HBV. HCV and HGV) was investigated in 109 Saudi patients with ESRD and 100 healthy Saudi blood donors. Donated blood was tested for markers of Hepatitis B, C and G viruses. Liver functions were measured and blood picture and liver biopsies were also performed at regular intervals. RESULTS: Out of the 109 ESRD patients 68 (62.4%) were positive for at least one viral marker: 59 (54.1%) were positive for HCV, six (5.5%) were positive for HGV and three (2.8%) were positive for HBsAg. Four of the six HGV positive patients were also co-infected with HCV. Eight (8%) of the blood donors were positive for at least one viral marker. Elevated ALT levels (>4 times normal) were recorded in four out of the six HGV-positive patients including three co-infected with HCV. CONCLUSIONS: Our results are in agreement with similar studies from different countries and also raise the question about the causal relationship between HGV and liver disease among dialysis patients.

Adding plasmapheresis to corticosteroids and alkylating agents: does it benefit patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis?

DESIGN: Eleven adult patients with biopsy-proven primary FSGS and nephrotic syndrome resistant to steroids and cytotoxic drugs were treated with plasmapheresis in addition to oral prednisolone and intravenous cyclophosphamide. On the average each patient had undergone 17 sessions over a period of 15-25 weeks (mean 21.90+/-2.71 weeks). RESULTS: One month after the last plasmapheresis session, 72.7% (n=8) of the patients were in clinical remission of nephrotic syndrome in association with the stabilization of renal function. In contrast, patients who did not respond 27.3% (n=3) had a gradual decline in renal function. After a mean follow-up of 27.45+/-6.31 months, six patients who responded (54.5%) remained in sustained complete or partial remission of proteinuria with stable renal function. The mean proteinuria at the latest examination was 0.9+/-0.01 g per day in these patients. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that a combination of plasmapheresis, corticosteroids, and cyclophosphamide may obtain sustained improvement of proteinuria and stabilization of plasma creatinine in about half of the patients who proved to be refractory to therapy.

Peritonitis in Patients on CAPD at King Khalid University Hospital: Less Infection-rate with More Center-experience.

Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) was started at the King Khalid University Hospital in 1986. Peritonitis remains the most significant complication of the procedure. Earlier rates of peritonitis were high, but after gaining sufficient experience, the rates are declining. To evaluate the change in peritonitis trend, 55 new patients who were recruited to our CAPD program between the periods October 1993-October 1996 were analyzed for the development of peritonitis on annual basis. There were 37 (67%) males and 18 (33%) females with a mean age of 43.3 years (range 12-72 years). A total of 34 episodes of peritonitis were recorded with a rate of 1.5 episode/patients year in 1993, 0.5 episode/patient year in 1994 and 0.8 in 1995. only 40% of episodes showed positive cultures whereas 60% remained culture-negative despite use of recommended modified culture techniques. Organisms causing peritonitis included staphylococcus eipdermides (6.7%), E. coli (3.3%), Streptococcus fecalis (3.3%) and pseudomonas (6.7%). Out of 34 episodes of peritonitis, 29 (85.3%) showed response to treatment and five episodes could only be treated after removal of catheter. Of the 29 episodes that responded to treatment, three relapsed and one had recurrent infection . However, all were successfully treated though one responded only after removal of catheter. Thus, a total of six catheters (20%) necessitated removal and replacement. In spite of high diabetic patients population in our series (27.2%) only one died of peritonitis related sepsis and another died of myocardial infarction after clearing the infection. Thus mortality remains low in spite of potential risk. Although we still use straight system CAPD rather than Y system peritonitis rates have declined considerable and we hope that the procedure will gain more acceptability amongst patients with ESRD in Saudi Arabia.

Spectrum of renal osteodystrophy in dialysis patients at a tertiary hospital, riyadh, saudi arabia.

To evaluate renal osteodystrophy (ROD), bone biopsies were performed in 57 patients with end-stage renal failure (ESRF) on dialysis, 46 on hemodialysis (HD) and 11 on peritoneal dialysis (PD). There were 29 males (mean age of 42 years) and 28 females (mean age of 39 years). Relevant presenting clinical features were pruritus in 46 cases, bone pains in 32, acute pseudogout in three, bone deformities in two, conjunctiva! calcification in two, cutaneous calcification in two, and corneal calcification in one. The mean value of predialysis blood investigations were as follows: urea 33.9 mmol/L, creatinine 913 umol/L, bicarbonate 18 mmol/L, calcium 2.36 mmol/L, albumin 40 g/L, phosphorus 1.69 mmol/L, alkaline phosphatase 178 U/L, parathyroid hormone 543 pmol/L, magnesium 1.06 mmol/L and aluminum 1.81 mmol/L. Skeletal survey showed no changes in 24 patients (42%), hyperparathyroid cystic changes of bones in seven, osteoporosis as the predominant features in seven, mixed picture of ROD in 12, subperiosteal resorption of the metacarpals in two, osteosclerosis (Rugger Jersey Spine) in two and osteomalacia in two patients. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by dual x-ray absorptiometry in the lumbar spine (LS) and femoral neck (FN). All patients had low BMD (both LS and FN). Bone biopsy (BBX) revealed mixed picture in 30 cases, predominantly secondary hyperparathyroid changes in 10, mild hyperparathyroid changes in five, predominant osteoporosis in three, osteomalacia in four, aplastic (adynamic) bone in four, and aluminum deposition in one. All of the patients who showed evidence of bone involvement on BBX had abnormal BMD suggesting that BMD is a good non-invasive screening test for ROD but indiscriminative for the type of bone disease. BBX still remains the diagnostic tool to differentiate and classify different types of bone disease.

Sarcoidosis with partial reversibility of renal failure: two case reports with review of literature.

Sarcoidosis is one of the granulomatus disorders affecting many organ systems of the body. Renal impairment in sarcoidosis is rare and occurs usually as a result of long standing hypercalcemia or hypercalciuria with nephrocalcinosis or renal stones. Sarcoid glomerulopathy and tubulo-interstitial granulomatus involvement have been described. We report two cases of sarcoidosis, the first with interstitial nephritis and anterior uveitis without evidence of granuloma. The patient was normocalcemic and normocalciuric. The second case presented with nephritic range proteinuria and severe renal insufficiency with a history of recurrent parotid swelling seven years before diagnosis. Renal biopsy showed non-caseating granulomas in the tubulo-interstitial region. Both patients showed good response to steroid therapy, however, there is still residual renal insufficiency six months after therapy. In conclusion, renal sarcoidosis although a rare presentation, should be considered in the presence of extra-renal manifestation of sarcoidosis as it is amenable to treatment.

Serum ionic fluoride levels in haemodialysis and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients.

High serum fluoride (F-) in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is associated with risk of renal osteodystrophy and other bone changes. This study was done to determine F- in normal healthy controls and patients with ESRD on haemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD). Seventeen healthy controls (12 males, 5 females) and 39 ESRD patients on dialysis (17 males, 22 females) were recruited in the study in a community with 47.4 +/- 3.28 microM/l (range 44-51 microM/l) of F- content in drinking water. Control subjects showed a mean serum F- concentration of 1.08 +/- 0.350 microM/l. Males in control group showed slightly higher F- levels (1.15 +/- 0.334, range 0.55-1.9 microM/l) than females (0.92 +/- 0.370, range 0.6-1.5 microM/l). Mean serum F- concentration did not correlate significantly with age and sex among control subjects, whereas such correlation was observed in patients with ESRD on dialysis. Mean serum F- concentration was significantly higher in patients on dialysis (2.67 +/- 1.09, range 0.8-5.2 microM/l) than normal controls. When grouped according to sex, the mean serum F- concentration in males (3.05 +/- 1.04, range 1.8-5.2 microM/l) was significantly higher than females (2.38 +/- 1.08, range 0.8-5.2 microM/l). When patients were grouped according to age, it was observed that F- concentration was significantly higher in patients with age groups 21-70 (2.86 +/- 1.05) than those with age group 13-20 years (1.42 +/- 0.531). Thus F- concentration correlated with age and sex, being higher in males and above 20 years. Despite appreciable clearance of F- (39-90%) across the peritoneum, patients on CAPD showed higher serum F- concentration than those on HD (3.1 +/- 1.97 vs 2.5 +/- 1.137 microM/l). Of the total 39 patients on dialysis 39% had their serum F- concentration above 3.0 microM/l, posing the risk of renal osteodystrophy.

Etiology of end-stage renal disease in two regions of saudi arabia.

A total of 127 patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) including 45 from Al-Madinah and 82 from the Gizan regions of Saudi Arabia were studied to determine the etiology of ESRD. The categorization into various diagnoses were according to established criteria. A total of 22 renal biopsies were also obtained to aid in the diagnosis. The mean age of the study patients was 50 years in Al-Madinah region and 37 years in Gizan region. Overall, the etiology could be established in 56 patients (44.1%) including 31 patients (68.9%) in Al-Madinah and 25 patients (30.5%) in Gizan regions. Diabetic nephropathy was the commonest cause of ESRD in Al-Madinah (45.2%) while obstructive nephropathy was the commonest identifiable cause in Gizan (24%). Our study suggests that diabetes and obstruction are the main conditions against which strategies for prevention and treatment should be directed.

Bartter's syndrome in two successive generations of a Saudi family.

Bartter's syndrome (BS) is characterized by primary renal tubular hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis, hyperreninemia, hyperaldosteronism and normal blood pressure. The parents and siblings of a BS patient were evaluated for renal tubular function. The father and all 9 siblings of the patient had biochemical features of BS. His mother, a first cousin of his father, had hypokalemia and hyperkaluria but no other features of BS and could have been a 'carrier'. The mother and all 9 siblings were asymptomatic. Including the patient, hypomagnesemia was present in 8 of 12 family members. Therapy with a combination of potassium chloride and magnesium increased the serum potassium and magnesium levels to within normal limits. The familial occurrence in BS is well known, and reports of the disorder in siblings and the first generation of children of consanguineous marriages and normal parents have been taken to suggest an autosomal recessive inheritance. One affected parent and involvement of all siblings of the patient raise the possibility of an autosomal dominant inheritance in the present family.

Pattern of glomerular disease in Saudi Arabia.

Clinical data and renal biopsy study of 186 adult patients found to have nephropathy and seen at the Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, over a 5-year period (1989 to 1994) were reviewed. Primary glomerular disease accounted for more than three fourths of all patients (79%), and the most common histological lesion was focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (40.8%) associated with a high incidence of hypertension (86.7%), nephrotic syndrome (61.7%), hematuria (48.8%), and renal impairment (33.3%). Mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis was the second most common lesion (21.1%), followed by membreous glomerulonephritis (13.6%), immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) (13.6%), membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (9.5%), and minimal change disease (1.4%). Although not as common as in most other developed countries, IgAN is being increasingly recognized in Saudis. Lupus nephritis remained the commonest cause of secondary glomerulonephritis (48.5%), whereas amyloidosis was conspicuously absent. There is no evidence, at least in this series, that chronic infection such as hepatitis B virus infection has a major role in the development of glomerulonephritis.

The incidence of end-stage renal disease in two regions of kingdom of saudi arabia.

Maintaining patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on renal replacement therapy is expensive and it is important to increase efforts towards reducing the incidence of ESRD. For this, a sound knowledge of the magnitude of the problem is necessary. This study was undertaken to estimate the incidence of ESRD in two regions of Saudi Arabia namely: Gizan, situated in the Southern area with a population of 654,685; and Al-Madinah, situated in the North Western area with a population of 828,477. All general hospitals and primary care centers under the Ministry of Health in the two regions were included in the study. Those patients in whom two consecutive serum creatinine values above 265 micromol/L were recorded were recruited into the study. There were no non governmental centers offering care for patients with renal failure in the study regions at the time of the study. A total of 108 patients in Al-Madinah region and 187 patients in Gizan fulfilled the criteria of the study. Sex distribution was similar in both regions, 61% male and 39% female. There were 71.3% Saudi and 28.7% Non-Saudi patients in Al-Madinah and 65.2% Saudis and 34.7% Non-Saudi patients in Gizan. Analysis of age distribution showed that the highest prevalence occurred among patients between 41 and 60 years of age in Al-Madinah whereas in Gizan it was between 21 to 50 years. The annual incidence of ESRD in Al-Madinah was 65.2 per million population (PMP) and in Gizan 189 PMP. The higher incidence in Gizan may be due to ethnic, socio-economic and environmental factors. A large scale study covering all parts of the Kingdom is needed to throw more light on such variations in the incidence of ESRD in the Kingdom.

Intravenous Iron Saccharate in Hemodialysis Patients Receiving r-HuEPO.

A study was undertaken to evaluate the safety and efficacy of iron saccharate in regular haemodialysis (HD) patients receiving r-HuEPO. A total of 109 patients (57 males, 52 females, mean age 34.1 + 11.7 years) were included in the study, 64 of whom were iron deficient. The patients were divided into two groups. Group I (n = 58) received high dose iron saccharate (500 mg), intravenously (i.v.) (1-2 doses), and Group II (n = 51) received low dose iron saccharate (100 mg), i.v., thrice per week (5-10 doses). Results at four weeks showed a significant increment in hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), and serum ferritin in both groups. Two patients developed headache, fever and urticaria, and three patients developed fever in group I. None of the patients in group II developed any adverse reaction. Intravenous iron supplementation with iron saccharate in HD patients showing poor response to r-HuEPO, produced satisfactory Hct levels without major side effects and without the need to increase the dose of r-HuEPO. Commonly observed side effects were not seen with the low dose regimen.