Peritoneal Dialysis and Malignancy: An Experience With a Patient Complicated by Gastric Carcinoma.

An 86-year-old man who had been treated with peritoneal dialysis for 14°months due to end-stage kidney disease secondary to hypertensive nephrosclerosis presented with a recent history of malaise, abdominal discomfort, and anorexia. An endoscopic evaluation revealed an elevated, ulcerated, and friable lesion around the lesser curvature of the stomach. The concurrent gastric biopsy specimens revealed moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma, while a cytological examination of the dialysis fluid revealed clusters of malignant cells. This is the first report illustrating a case of a Borrmann type 3 gastric cancer with synchronous peritoneal involvement in which the assessment of the disease state was aided by the cytological analysis of peritoneal effluent. Several concerns relating to this pathology are also discussed.

Association between warfarin use and incidence of ischemic stroke in Japanese hemodialysis patients with chronic sustained atrial fibrillation: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Although generally recommended for atrial fibrillation (AF) in the general population, the efficacy and safety of warfarin in hemodialysis patients remains controversial. Warfarin use in hemodialysis patients may confer an additional risk of bleeding that is not appreciated in patients without renal failure because hemodialysis patients have platelet defects and receive anticoagulation agents during dialysis. The incidence of major bleeding was reported to be higher in Japanese AF patients on warfarin therapy compared to patients in other countries, suggesting that racial differences may influence bleeding tendency. Thus, examining risks and benefits of warfarin therapy in Japanese hemodialysis patients with AF is important. METHODS: In order to determine associations between warfarin use and new ischemic stroke events, major bleeding, and all-cause mortality, a prospective cohort study of 60 Japanese hemodialysis patients with chronic sustained AF was conducted using Cox proportional modeling and propensity score matching. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 68.1 years. During 110 person-years of follow-up, 13 ischemic strokes occurred. After adjusting for CHADS2 score, warfarin use was not associated with a significant reduction in ischemic stroke events [hazard ratio (HR) 3.36; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.94-11.23]. Similar results were obtained after propensity score matching (HR 3.36; 95 % CI 0.67-16.66). Warfarin use was not associated with significant increases in major bleeding or all-cause mortality. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that warfarin may not prevent ischemic stroke in Japanese hemodialysis patients with chronic sustained AF. Adequately powered studies are needed to determine the risks and benefits of anticoagulation therapy in these patients.

Serum cystatin C reliably detects renal dysfunction in patients with various renal diseases.

A clinical investigation was conducted to clarify the reliability and efficacy of serum cystatin C measurement for estimation of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Two hundred twelve patients with various renal diseases enrolled in the study. All patients were evaluated for 24-hour creatinine clearance (24 h C(Cr)) and the standard sodium thiosulfate clearance test (C(Thio)) within a week of blood sample collection. Serum cystatin C concentration was determined by a particle-enhanced immunonephelometry method. C(Thio) and 1/cystatin C, 24 h C(Cr), 1/beta2-microglobulin and 1/creatinine were well correlated. The correlation coefficients for C(Thio) obtained by 24 h C(Cr) and 1/cystatin C were comparable to each other (0.701 vs. 0.679). Receiver-operated characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that 24 h C(Cr) showed the highest area under the curve when C(Thio) = 60 ml/min or C(Thio) = 100 ml/min were applied as the discrimination point. However, the ROC value obtained by cystatin C was slightly greater than 24 h C(Cr) when C(Thio) = 80 ml/min was used as the discrimination point. Patient age, gender, glucose tolerance, presence of proteinuria, systemic inflammation, lupus, or systemic use of steroids did not interfere in the relationship between C(Thio) and 1/cystatin C. In conclusion, serum cystatin C measurement is an excellent diagnostic test for detecting patients with subclinical renal dysfunction.