Efficacy of low-dose rituximab in minimal change disease and prevention of relapse.

BACKGROUND: Minimal change disease (MCD) is a major cause of nephrotic syndrome (NS) in children and a minority of adults. The higher tendency to relapse put patients at risk for prolonged exposure to steroids and other immunosuppressive agents. B cell depletion with rituximab (RTX) may be beneficial to the treatment and prevention of frequently relapsing MCD. Therefore, this study aimed to verify the therapeutic/preventive effects of low-dose RTX on the relapse in adult with MCD. METHODS: A total of 33 adult patients were selected for the study, including 22 patients with relapsing MCD in relapse treatment group who were treated with low-dose RTX (200 mg per week × 4 following by 200 mg every 6 months) and 11 patients in relapse prevention group with complete remission (CR) after steroid therapy were treated with RTX (200 mg ×1 every 6 months) for preventing the relapse of MCD. RESULTS: Of the 22 patients with MCD in relapse treatment group, there were 21 cases (95.45%) of remission [2 (9.09%) partial remission (PR), 19 (86.36%) CR], 1 (4.56%) no remission (NR) and 20 (90.90%) relapse-free. The Median duration of sustained remission was 16.3 months (3, 23.5 months, inter quartile range (IQR)). 11 patients in the relapse prevention group during a follow-up of 12 months (9-31 months) had no relapse. The average dose of prednisone in two groups after RTX treatment was significantly lower than before treatment. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggested low-dose RTX can significantly reduce relapse rate and steroid dose in adults with MCD with fewer side effects. Low-dose RTX regimens may be beneficial for the treatment of relapsing MCD in adults and may be the preferred regimen for patients at high risk for the development of adverse events from corticosteroids.

What is the prognosis of ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis with immune deposition?

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to analyze histological and clinical characteristics of patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) showing renal involvement to investigate the associations between immune complexes (IC) and clinicopathological indicators, and explore the renal outcomes of AAV. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the histopathological features and clinical characteristics of 80 renal biopsies of patients with AAV with renal involvement. Renal morphology was classified into two (with and without the presence of IC and complement deposition). Endpoints included end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and death. RESULTS: Compared with patients without IC, patients with immune deposition had lower complement C3 (0.80 ± 0.27 vs. 0.93 ± 0.20, p = 0.024), more severe hematuria [133 (46-299) vs. 33 (15-115), p = 0.001] but had milder chronic pathology, including chronic tubular atrophy (p = 0.03), chronic interstitial fibrosis (p = 0.049). Patients in the immune deposition group showed a tendency to have more severe crescent formation and less glomerulosclerosis, but the difference was not statistically significant. Endpoints such as death and ESKD were not significantly different between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Immune deposition may indicate lower complement C3, more severe hematuria and glomerular lesions, milder tubular atrophy, and interstitial fibrosis, but it cannot predict the renal outcome.

Drug-Eluting Stents Versus Bare-Metal Stents in Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease.

BACKGROUND: The clinical outcomes of drug-eluting stents versus bare-metal stents in end-stage renal disease patients remains controversial. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search of Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane Library from January 2000 until November 2016 was conducted to identify relevant articles. We pooled the odds ratios (OR) from individual studies and conducted heterogeneity, quality assessment and publication bias analyses. RESULTS: A total of 18 studies with 44,194 patients were identified. Compared with bare-metal stent-treated patients, drug-eluting stent-treated patients had significantly lower short-term and long-term all-cause mortality (OR = 0.56; 95% CI: 0.48-0.65; P < 0.00001; OR = 0.78; 95% CI: 0.66-0.92; P = 0.004, respectively), myocardial infarction (OR = 0.69; 95% CI: 0.53-0.88; P = 0.003) and major adverse cardiac events (OR = 0.72; 95% CI: 0.58-0.90; P = 0.004), with no detectable difference regarding stent thrombosis (OR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.43-1.49; P = 0.47), cardiac mortality (OR = 0.95; 95% CI: 0.89-1.02; P = 0.14) and repeat revascularization (OR = 0.81; 95% CI: 0.62-1.06; P = 0.13). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with end-stage renal disease, the use of drug-eluting stents could significantly reduce the rates of mortality, myocardial infarction and major adverse cardiac events without increased risk of stent thrombosis. It poses imperative demands for future prospective randomized studies to define the optimal stent choice in this high-risk population.

Off-pump versus on-pump coronary surgery in patients with chronic kidney disease: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have worse adverse cardiovascular outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). However, the adverse cardiovascular outcomes between off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) versus on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (ONCAB) in these patients have been a subject of debate. METHODS: We undertook a comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library database to identify all relevant studies comparing techniques between OPCAB and ONCAB in CKD patients. We pooled the odds ratios (ORs) and hazard ratios (HRs) from individual studies and conducted heterogeneity, quality assessment, and publication bias analyses. RESULTS: This meta-analysis includes 17 studies with 201,889 patients. In CKD patients, OPCAB was associated with significantly lower early mortality as compared to ONCAB (OR 0.88; 95% CI 0.82-0.93; p < 0.0001). OPCAB was associated with decreased risk of atrial fibrillation (OR 0.57; 95% CI 0.34-0.97; p = 0.04), cerebrovascular accident (OR 0.46; 95% CI 0.22-0.95; p = 0.04), blood transfusion (OR 0.20; 95% CI 0.08-0.49; p = 0.0005), pneumonia, prolonged ventilation, and shorter hospital stays. No difference was found regarding long-term survival (HR 1.08; 95% CI 0.86-1.36; p = 0.51) or myocardial infarction (OR 0.65; 95% CI 0.30-1.38; p = 0.26). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with ONCAB, OPCAB is associated with superior postoperative morbidity and the early mortality in CKD patients. Long-term survival is comparable between the two surgical revascularizations.

The effect and safety of anacetrapib in the treatment of dyslipidemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Anacetrapib may be a new treatment option that has a cardiovascular benefit for the management of dyslipidemia. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our current study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect and safety of anacetrapib in the treatment of dyslipidemia. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library database from their inception to 5 October 2017, with the terms: 'anacetrapib' and 'placebo'. From 287 initial citations, 10 studies including 34781 patients with dyslipidemia were included in the final systematic review and meta-analysis. RESULTS: Pooled results showed that anacetrapib significantly increased high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) [weighted mean differences (WMD) 53.07, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 46.79 to 59.36] and apolipoprotein AI (ApoAI) (WMD 53.44, 95% CI 45.72 to 61.16). Our study also showed that anacetrapib significantly reduced low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (WMD -32.99; 95% CI -37.13 to -28.86), Non-HDL-C (WMD -39.19; 95% CI -52.22 to -26.16), triglycerides (TG) (WMD -9.97; 95% CI -10.54 to -9.41), apolipoprotein B (ApoB) (WMD -22.55; 95% CI -28.56 to -16.54) and lipoprotein a [LP(a)] (WMD -13.35; 95% CI -18.31 to -8.39). Our results demonstrated that there was no significant difference in all the following adverse events between the anacetrapib group and placebo group: [hepato-toxicity (OR 0.90, 95% CI: 0.75 to 1.07); musculoskeletal injury (OR 1.01, 95% CI: 0.88 to 1.15); drug-related adverse event (OR 1.00, 95% CI: 0.96 to 1.05); drug-related withdrawn (OR 1.01, 95% CI: 0.95 to 1.08)]. CONCLUSIONS: Although further studies are needed, our findings clearly offer support to the use of anacetrapib in the clinical management of patients with dyslipidemia.

Comparison of coronary artery bypass grafting and drug-eluting stents in patients with chronic kidney disease and multivessel disease: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The optimal revascularization strategy of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) versus percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stent (PCI-DES) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and multivessel disease (MVD) remains unclear. METHODS: Pubmed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library electronic databases were searched from inception until June 2016. Studies that evaluate the comparative benefits of DES versus CABG in CKD patients with multi-vessel disease were considered for inclusion. We pooled the odds ratios from individual studies and conducted heterogeneity, quality assessment and publication bias analyses. RESULTS: A total of 11 studies with 29,246 patients were included (17,928 DES patients; 11,318 CABG). Compared with CABG, pooled analysis of studies showed DES had higher long-term all-cause mortality (OR, 1.22; p<0.00001), cardiac mortality (OR, 1.29; p<0.00001), myocardial infarction (OR, 1.89; p=0.02), repeat revascularization (OR, 3.47; p<0.00001) and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) (OR, 2.00; p=0.002), but lower short-term all-cause mortality (OR, 0.33; p<0.00001) and cerebrovascular accident (OR, 0.64; p=0.0001). Subgroup analysis restricted to patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) yielded similar results, but no significant differences were found regarding CVA and MACCE. CONCLUSIONS: CABG for patients with CKD and MVD had advantages over PCI-DES in long-term all-cause mortality, MI, repeat revascularization and MACCE, but the substantial disadvantage in short-term mortality and CVA. Future large randomized controlled trials are certainly needed to confirm these findings.