Paying for Hemodialysis in Kerala, India: A Description of Household Financial Hardship in the Context of Medical Subsidy.

INTRODUCTION: Many low- and middle-income countries are implementing strategies to increase dialysis availability as growing numbers of people reach end-stage renal disease. Despite efforts to subsidize care, the economic sustainability of chronic dialysis in these settings remains uncertain. We evaluated the association of medical subsidy with household financial hardship related to hemodialysis in Kerala, India, a state with high penetrance of procedure-based subsidies for patients on dialysis. METHODS: Patients on maintenance hemodialysis at 15 facilities in Kerala were administered a questionnaire that ascertained demographics, dialysis details, and household finances. We estimated direct and indirect costs of hemodialysis, and described the use of medical subsidy. We evaluated whether presence of subsidy (private, charity, or government-sponsored) was associated with lower catastrophic health expenditure (defined as ≥40% of nonsubsistence expenditure spent on dialysis) or distress financing. RESULTS: Of the 835 patients surveyed, 759 (91%) reported their households experienced catastrophic health expenditure, and 644 (77%) engaged in distress financing. Median dialysis-related expenditure was 80% (25th-75th percentile: 60%-90%) of household nonsubsistence expenditure. Government subsidies were used by 238 (29%) of households, 139 (58%) of which were in the lowest income category. Catastrophic health expenditure was present in 215 (90%) of households receiving government subsidy and 332 (93%) without subsidy. CONCLUSIONS: Provision of medical subsidy in Kerala, India was not associated with lower rates of household financial hardship related to long-term hemodialysis therapy. Transparent counseling on impending costs and innovative strategies to mitigate household financial distress are necessary for persons with end-stage renal disease in resource-limited settings.

Renal involvement in multicentric Castleman disease with glomeruloid hemangioma of skin and plasmacytoma.

A 47-year-old man presented with fever of unknown origin, generalized weakness, edema, and renal failure. He had left-sided pleural effusion, generalized lymphadenopathy, multiple nontender cutaneous nodules, hepatomegaly, renal failure, and hypergammaglobulinemia. Axillary lymph node biopsy showed findings consistent with Castleman disease of the hyaline vascular type associated with interfollicular plasmacytosis. A renal biopsy performed in view of proteinuria and acute renal failure showed hypercellular glomeruli with capillary loop thickening and double contours consistent with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. Skin nodule biopsy showed a glomeruloid hemangioma characterized by dermal proliferation of capillary loops in a nodular manner resembling a glomerulus. He experienced clinical and biochemical remission with steroids. Discontinuation of steroid therapy was associated with recurrence of renal failure, reappearance of nodules, lymphadenopathy, and appearance of bony lytic lesions. Biopsy of bony lytic lesions showed plasmacytoma. The patient achieved complete remission on treatment with steroids and cyclophosphamide and is free of symptoms at the end of 40 months of follow-up. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of the occurrence of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, glomeruloid hemangioma of the skin, and plasmacytoma in a patient with multicentric Castleman disease without human immunodeficiency virus infection.