Hemodialysis Session Research Articles

Cannabis Use, Perspectives, and Experiences Among Patients Receiving Hemodialysis: A Descriptive Patient Survey.

Patients with chronic kidney disease experience high burden of symptoms, negatively affecting their quality of life. Medication therapy is often initiated to address these symptoms but is limited by variable efficacy and high pill burden. There is interest among clinicians and patients to explore cannabis and cannabinoids as an alternative treatment to manage symptoms related to kidney disease. The objectives were to characterize cannabis use among patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis (HD), to describe patient perspectives on cannabis, and to explore patient experiences with their kidney health care team related to cannabis. This was a descriptive, cross-sectional paper-based patient survey. Patients receiving maintenance HD at Toronto General Hospital in the ambulatory setting between July and August 2020 were included. A 33-item questionnaire was developed to address the study questions based on existing cannabis questionnaires and input from kidney specialist physicians, pharmacists, kidney nurse practitioners, and patients. The questionnaire was distributed to patients during their in-center HD session. Patients who chose to participate in the study completed the questionnaire and returned it to the study team. In total, there were 52 respondents, of which 11 (21%) reported cannabis use in the preceding 3 months, and 23 (44%) reported historical cannabis use. Baseline characteristics were similar between those who used cannabis and those who did not, with a possible trend of cannabis users being younger. The most commonly reported reasons for using cannabis were recreation and symptom management. Those who reported using cannabis for symptom management were doing so without medical authorization or documentation. Common symptoms that cannabis was used to self-treat were insomnia, anxiety, and/or non-neuropathic pain. Dried flower was the most common type of product used, and smoking was the most common route. Care gaps and opportunities to improve patient care related to cannabis use were identified, related to monitoring and management of adverse effects, management of drug interactions, harm reduction strategies, informed decision-making, and prescriber education. The overall participation rate was low, at approximately 17%, possibly related to the COVID-19 pandemic, lack of interest, or fear of revealing cannabis use. Non-response bias is a possible limitation as this was a voluntary survey. The questionnaire was limited to multiple-choice and Likert scale questions, therefore limiting the depth of patient responses. Our study showed that cannabis use among patients receiving HD is common and comparable with the general population. Patients may be using cannabis to self-manage symptoms related to kidney disease, without the involvement of the health care team. Multiple opportunities to improve patient care related to cannabis use were identified.

Assessment of Hemorrhagic Risk in Maintenance Hemodialysis Population using Different Clinical Tools

BACKGROUND: End stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis (HD) face an elevated bleeding risk. There are the factors such as body mass index (BMI), comorbidities, and medications such as antiplatelet, anticoagulants, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that increase the bleeding risk. The validity of bleeding risk assessment tools in the ESKD population needs to be studied. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospective, observational study in a HD unit at a tertiary care teaching hospital in Ajman. Sixty adult patients on regular maintenance HD sessions were included in the study. Severity of bleeding was categorized based on the World Health Organization (WHO) classification. Each patient’s risk of bleeding was assessed monthly using 9 different bleeding risk assessment tools (HASBLED, ATRIA, HEMORR2HAGES, ORBIT, IMPROVE, OBRI, S2TOP-BLEED, intracranial-B2 LEED3S, and Glasgow Blatchford Score for gastrointestinal bleeding) for 6 months’ period. Patients were categorized into low- and high-risk groups according to their risk scores. The predictive power of risk assessment tools was assessed by calculating its sensitivity and specificity. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted, and the area under the curve was estimated for each risk assessment tool. Logistic regression model was also done using the SPSS software version 29. RESULTS: The mean age of the study group was 56 years, and the average BMI was 27 kg/m2. A total of 20 bleeding events were reported among ten patients (16.7%). The WHO category 1 and WHO category 2 bleeding were observed in 15 and 5 bleeding events, respectively. None had category 3 or 4 bleeding. Bleeding risk was found to be associated with ethnicity and obesity but not to other patient demographic factors or medication use. Based on sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and the area under the ROC curve, HEMORR2HAGES score showed better prediction of bleeding risk compared to the other tools used. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, most of the risk assessment tools showed poor predictive value in the maintenance HD population. Existing bleeding risk tools may not be helpful in dialysis patients. A more valid bleeding risk tool needs to be developed for the ESKD patient population.

Peritoneal Dialysis in High-Risk Occupations.

Renal Replacement Therapy (RRT), involving two modalities of dialysis, namely haemodialysis (HD) and/or peritoneal dialysis (PD) remain the mainstay of therapy for patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) worldwide. The goals of renal replacement therapy are multi-pronged. They are not only limited to ensuring patient survival, but also improving patient overall well-being and quality of life. The relationship between employment and quality of life are often closely linked. Peritoneal dialysis provides patients with greater flexibility, independence and control over their treatment. This is particularly advantageous to the working ESKD patients. On the other hand, HD sessions can often interfere with work schedules due to HD facility attendance and the duration of each session. This case report highlights PD and its impact on improved quality of life by specifically supporting the case patient ‘s ability to maintain employment as a commercial truck driver. In addition, it edifies both ESRD patients and clinicians, particularly in developing countries, on the advantages of PD. These advantages extend beyond the physiological preservation of residual renal function and patient survival, but also embody the improvement of the overall well-being and quality of patients’ lives by broadening the employment horizon of patients in even high-risk occupations such as commercial truck driving.

Effect of single hemodialysis session on inflammatory and oxidative stress markers of chronic kidney disease patients

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD), with its high prevalence, morbidity and mortality, is an important public health problem. The progression of CKD has been shown to result in inflammation and oxidative stress. For CKD hemodialysis (HD) is the most common RRT modality in India. Present study aimed to compare and evaluate the immune modality profile, oxidative marker and biochemical profile of pre and post dialysis chronic kidney disease patients. Material and method: The study included 40 CKD patients depending on inclusion and exclusion criteria, attending HAHC hospital, HIMSR, New Delhi, which were on hemodialysis. The mean age of the patient was 60±15 yrs. Patients undergoing dialysis thrice in a week for about 4 hrs per session at flow 250-300 ml/min. Inflammatory and oxidative stress markers were assessed pre and post dialysis during any one session of dialysis in chronic kidney disease patients. Result: There was significant decrease in inflammatory and oxidative stress markers after dialysis. There was also significant decrease in biochemical marker levels post dialysis. Conclusion: Hence, evident from this study improvement in inflammatory markers and renal function test after dialysis suggests that indeed haemodialysis is the most common and better treatment option for chronic kidney disease patients.

La hipertensión arterial intradiálisis, un diagnóstico por descubrir

IntroductionIntradialytic hypertension (IDH) is a poorly understood phenomenon with no consensus on its definition, etiology, or related factors, and there is limited evidence on its consequences. ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence of IDH according to different definitions in hemodialysis (HD) units, with different clinical practices and assessment of possible events after 18 months have passed. Materials and methodsA cross-sectional observational study was conducted in two HD units, including all prevalent patients from March 2021 to September 2022. We established three definitions of IDH: Def 1: Mean arterial pressure (MAP) difference pre- and pos-HD>15mmHg. Def 2: Systolic blood pressure (SBP) difference pre- and pos-HD>10mmHg. Def 3: SBP difference >0 and ultrafiltration rate (UFR)>5ml/kg/h.IDH was considered present if the criterion was met in more than 50% of the six consecutive sessions (2 weeks) of follow-up. Personal history, medications, dialysis characteristics, and pre- and post-HD biochemical data were collected. Residual renal function (RRF) was considered as urine output >250ml/24h. At 18 months, the possible events of the group were analyzed. ResultsWe included 169 patients (68% men) with a mean age of 67.9 (14.2) years and a median HD duration of 34.5 (IQR: 17.5-67.5) months. Of these, 94 come from one unit and 75 from the other. The prevalence of IDH was 8.3% according to Def 1, 27.2% according to Def 2, and 29.6% according to Def 3. Def 2 showed an association with a history of previous hypertension, use of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASIs), and furosemide, as well as with patients with RRF. Def 3 showed an association only with coronary artery disease. There was an association with different prescriptions of dialysis fluids. Catecholaminergic hormones and aldosterone did not increase in patients with hypertension during the HD session. They did not present a higher incidence of cardiovascular events or mortality at 18 months. ConclusionsIDH has different prevalence rates depending on the definition used and the studied center. The future poses an important challenge: to determine which definition correlates with higher morbidity and mortality and the role of differences found in different HD units.

Ambient temperature and the occurrence of intradialytic hypotension in patients receiving hemodialysis.

Intradialytic hypotension (IDH) is a common hemodialysis complication causing adverse outcomes. Despite the well-documented associations of ambient temperatures with fluid removal and pre-dialysis blood pressure (BP), the relationship between ambient temperature and IDH has not been adequately studied. We conducted a cohort study at a tertiary hospital in southern Taiwan between 1 January 2016 and 31 October 2021. The 24-h pre-hemodialysis mean ambient temperature was determined using hourly readings from the weather station closest to each patient's residence. IDH was defined using Fall40 [systolic BP (SBP) drop of ≥40mmHg] or Nadir90/100 (SBP <100 if pre-dialysis SBP was ≥160, or SBP <90mmHg). Multivariate logistic regression with generalizing estimating equations and mediation analysis were utilized. The study examined 110400 hemodialysis sessions from 182 patients, finding an IDH prevalence of 11.8% and 10.4% as per the Fall40 and Nadir90/100 criteria, respectively. It revealed a reverse J-shaped relationship between ambient temperature and IDH, with a turning point around 27°C. For temperatures under 27°C, a 4°C drop significantly increased the odds ratio of IDH to 1.292 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.228 to 1.358] and 1.207 (95% CI 1.149 to 1.268) under the Fall40 and Nadir90/100 definitions, respectively. Lower ambient temperatures correlated with higher ultrafiltration, accounting for about 23% of the increased IDH risk. Stratified seasonal analysis indicated that this relationship was consistent in spring, autumn and winter. Lower ambient temperature is significantly associated with an increased risk of IDH below the threshold of 27°C, irrespective of the IDH definition. This study provides further insight into environmental risk factors for IDH in patients undergoing hemodialysis.

A model of hemodialysis after acute kidney injury in rats

BackgroundAcute kidney injury (AKI) is frequent among critically ill patients. Renal replacement therapy (RRT) is often required to deal with severe complications of AKI. This technique is however associated with side effects such as hemodynamic instability and delayed renal recovery. In this study, we aimed to describe a novel model of hemodialysis in rats with AKI and depict a dialysis membrane performance.MethodsEighteen Sprague–Dawley rats received 0.75% adenine-rich diet to induce AKI. After 2 weeks, nine underwent an arterio-venous extracorporeal circulation (ECC) (ECC group) for 2 h without a dialysis membrane on the circuit and nine received a hemodialysis session (HD group) for 2 h with an ECC circuit. All rats were hemodynamically monitored, and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was measured by transcutaneous fluorescence after the injection of FITC-Sinistrin. Blood samples were collected at different time points to assess serum creatinine and serum urea concentrations and to determine the Kt/V. Sinistrin concentration was also quantified in both plasma and dialysis effluent.ResultsAfter 2 weeks of adenine-rich diet, rats exhibited a decrease in GFR. Both serum urea and serum creatinine concentrations increased in the ECC group but remained stable in the HD group. We found no significant difference in serum creatinine and serum urea concentrations between groups. At the end of experiments, mean serum urea was 36.7 mmol/l (95%CI 19.7–46.9 mmol/l) and 23.6 mmol/l (95%CI 15.2–33.5 mmol/l) in the ECC and HD groups, respectively (p = 0.15), and mean serum creatinine concentration was 158.0 µmol/l (95%CI 108.1–191.9 µmol/l) and 114.0 µmol/l (95%CI 90.2–140.9 µmol/l) in the ECC and HD groups, respectively (p = 0.11). The Kt/V of the model was estimated at 0.23. Sinistrin quantity in the ultrafiltrate raised steadily during the dialysis session. After 2 h, the median quantity was 149.2 µg (95% CI 99.7–250.3 µg).ConclusionsThis hemodialysis model is an acceptable compromise between the requirement of hemodynamic tolerance which implies reducing extracorporeal blood volume (using a small dialyzer) and the demonstration that diffusion of molecules through the membrane is achieved.

The Haemodialysis Session Effect on the Choroidal Thickness and Retinal and Choroidal Microcirculation-A Literature Review.

Haemodialysis (HD) is currently the most commonly used method of renal replacement therapy. The process of dialysis involves numerous changes that affect many systems, including the eye. The changes occurring in the course of HD may affect the ocular parameters, such as intraocular pressure, central corneal thickness, retinal thickness, retinal nerve fibre layer thickness, and choroidal thickness (CT). The choroid, being one of the most vascularized tissues, is characterized by the highest ratio of blood flow to tissue volume in the entire body, may be particularly susceptible to changes occurring during HD, and at the same time reflect the microcirculatory status and its response to HD. Patients with end-stage renal disease subjected to dialysis are highly susceptible to systemic microvascular dysfunction. Moreover, it is considered that the process of HD itself contributes to vascular dysfunction. Nowadays, thanks to the development of imaging techniques, the widely available optical coherence tomography (OCT) tests allow for the assessment of CT, while OCT-angiography allows for a quick, non-invasive, and repeatable assessment of the condition of retinal and choroidal microcirculation, which significantly expands our knowledge regarding the reaction of ocular microcirculation due to HD. The assessment of both retinal and choroidal circulation is even more attractive because retinal circulation is autoregulated, while choroidal circulation is mainly controlled by extrinsic autonomic innervation. Thus, assessment of the choroidal response to an HD session may provide the possibility to indirectly evaluate the functions of the autonomic system in patients subjected to HD. At a time when the importance of microcirculation in systemic and renal diseases is becoming increasingly evident, the assessment of ocular microcirculation appears to be a potential biomarker for assessing the condition of systemic microcirculation. In this work, we present a review of the literature on the effect of the HD session on CT and the retinal and choroidal microcirculation.

Factors affecting the mortality of February earthquakes victims in Türkiye

Objective>50,000 people died in the February 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye. The aim of this study was to identify the factors affecting mortality rates of the trauma patients who were presented to the emergency department (ED) after the earthquake and provide suggestions for better preparedness strategies for future natural disasters. MethodsThis retrospective, cross-sectional study encompassed data from 955 trauma patients out of 3072 patients aged 18 years and above who sought assistance in the ED. Patients were divided into two groups: the survivor group and the exitus group. Age, gender, the city where patients came from, type of presentation, injured organ systems and mechanisms of injury, laboratory findings, the diagnoses in the ED, time spent in the ED, surgical intervention, and hemodialysis sessions were analyzed. The characteristics of those who could not be identified at the presentation to the ED were subjected to additional analysis. ResultsOut of 955 patients, 75.9% had extremity injuries, with crushing injuries (23.6%) being predominant. There were no significant differences in age or gender between the survivor and exitus groups (p = 0.776, p = 0.522), nor in the province of admission (p = 0.249). Clinical factors indicated that the exitus group were more likely to lack identification documents (29.6%), have spent longer trapped under debris, and have a higher frequency of ambulance transportation. Injuries such as chest and abdominal trauma, specific injury types, and amputation or open wounds were notably more frequent in the exitus group. Diagnoses revealed that metabolic causes were more common in exitus group (p < 0.001). While no significant difference existed in the need for emergency surgical intervention (p = 0.939), a higher frequency of emergency hemodialysis was observed among exitus group (p = 0.001). Laboratory findings indicated higher levels of various markers and lower calcium, base excess, and pH levels among those in the exitus group. ConclusionIn the aftermath of a devastating earthquake, this study underscores the formidable challenges faced by healthcare systems during natural disasters. To prepare for future disasters, healthcare systems must enhance resilience, develop rapid identification techniques, and adopt a holistic patient care approach.

Individualized hemodialysis: Is similar hemodialysis adequacy possible using less water?

There are over 60,000 hemodialysis (HD) patients in Türkiye, and the number of patients is increasing yearly. Dialysate flow rate (Qd) is a factor in HD adequacy. Approximately 150 L of water are consumed per session to prepare the dialysate. We aimed to investigate whether HD effectiveness can be achieved at a low Qd in different patient groups for the purpose of saving water. This prospective study included 81 HD patients from 2 centers. The patients underwent an aggregate total of 486 HD sessions, including 3 sessions at a Qd of 500 mL/min and 3 sessions at a Qd of 300 mL/min for each patient. We used online Kt/V readings recorded at the end of each dialysis session to compare the effectiveness of these 2 types of HD session performed at a different Qd. The online Kt/V readings were similar between the standard (500) and low (300) Qd HD (1.51 ± 0.41 and 1.49 ± 0.44, respectively, p = 0.069). In the subgroup analyses, men had higher online Kt/V values at the standard Qd compared to the low Qd (1.35 ± 0.30 and 1.30 ± 0.32, respectively, p = 0.019), but the Kt/V values were not different for women. While the low Qd did not reduce online Kt/V in patients using small surface area dialysis membranes (1.75 ± 0.35 for 300 Qd and 1.75 ± 0.32 for 500 Qd, p = 0.931), it was associated with reduced online Kt/V in patients using large surface area dialysis membranes (1.12 ± 0.25 for 300 Qd and 1.17 ± 0.24 for 500 Qd, p = 0.006). The low Qd did not result in differences in online Kt/V among low-weight patients. However, online Kt/V values were better with the standard Qd in patients weighing 65 kg and above. In our study, dialysis adequacy at a reduced dialysate flow was not inferior for women, patients with low body weight, or patients using small surface area membranes. Individualized HD at a reduced Qd of 300 mL/min in eligible patients can save 48 L of water per HD session and an average of 7500 L of water per year.

Association of intradialysis blood sodium level, blood pressure variability, and hydration status with hemodialysis-related headache: a prospective cohort study

ObjectiveTo identify primary factors contributing to hemodialysis-related headache (HRH) in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients.MethodsAdult outpatients receiving MHD were prospectively enrolled from a hemodialysis (HD) center of a tertiary hospital in China. Twelve dialysis sessions were successively monitored for each patient. HRH is defined as having at least three headache episodes that begin during HD and resolve within 72 h of HD session completion. Blood gas analysis during headache episodes and body composition analysis after dialysis were conducted. Hour-to-hour vital sign variability during dialysis was assessed using the metric of average real variability (ARV). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore the factors triggering HRH.ResultsA total of 95 Chinese MHD patients were enrolled, with 92 patients (60.9% were males) included in the final analysis. The mean age of the 92 patients was 59.3 ± 17.5 years, and the median dialysis vintage was 27.1 (12–46.2) months. Among them, 12 patients (13%) complained of 42 headache attacks, and eight (8.7%) were diagnosed with HRH. For eight patients with HRH, headache occurred 100.3 ± 69.5 min after the start of dialysis, with a mean VAS score of 4.3 ± 1 points. The quality of headaches was dull (six patients), pulsating (one patient), or stabbing pain (one patient); all the headaches were bilateral, with one having concomitant vomiting. The intradialysis headache duration and the whole headache duration were 98.8 ± 68.1 and 120 (65–217.5) minutes, respectively. Younger age (OR = 0.844, 95% CI 0.719–0.991, p = 0.039), decreased blood sodium level (OR = 0.309 in the range of 133–142 mmol/L, 95% CI 0.111–0.856, p = 0.024), increased ARV of intradialysis systolic blood pressure (OR = 3.067, 95% CI 1.006–9.348, p = 0.049) and ratio of overhydration to dry weight (OR = 1.990, 95% CI 1.033–3.832, p = 0.040) were found to be independent risk factors for HRH.ConclusionsThis study suggested a significant attribution of blood sodium, hydration status and blood pressure variability to HRH.

Cost analysis of the management of end-stage renal disease patients in Abuja, Nigeria

BackgroundAlthough the treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) under Nigeria’s National Health Insurance Authority is haemodialysis (HD), the cost of managing ESRD is understudied in Nigeria. Therefore, this study estimated the provider and patient direct costs of haemodialysis and managing ESRD in Abuja, Nigeria.MethodThe study was a cross-sectional survey from both healthcare provider and consumer perspectives. We collected data from public and private tertiary hospitals (n = 6) and ESRD patients (n = 230) receiving haemodialysis in the selected hospitals. We estimated the direct providers’ costs using fixed and variable costs. Patients’ direct costs included drugs, laboratory services, transportation, feeding, and comorbidities. Additionally, data on the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients were collected. The costs were summarized in descriptive statistics using means and percentages. A generalized linear model (gamma with log link) was used to predict the patient characteristics associated with patients’ cost of haemodialysis.ResultsThe mean direct cost of haemodialysis was $152.20 per session (providers: $123.69; and patients: $28.51) and $23,742.96 annually (providers: $19,295.64; and patients: $4,447.32). Additionally, patients spent an average of $2,968.23 managing comorbidities. The drivers of providers’ haemodialysis costs were personnel and supplies. Residing in other towns (HD:β = 0.55, ρ = 0.001; ESRD:β = 0.59, ρ = 0.004), lacking health insurance (HD:β = 0.24, ρ = 0.038), attending private health facility (HD:β = 0.46, ρ < 0.001; ESRD: β = 0.75, ρ < 0.001), and greater than six haemodialysis sessions per month (HD:β = 0.79, ρ < 0.001; ESRD: β = 0.99, ρ < 0.001) significantly increased the patient’s out-of-pocket spending on haemodialysis and ESRD.ConclusionThe costs of haemodialysis and managing ESRD patients are high. Providing public subsidies for dialysis and expanding social health insurance coverage for ESRD patients might reduce the costs.

Adherence of Hemodialysis Patients to Fluid, Diet, Medications, and Hemodialysis Sessions, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

The adherence of hemodialysis (HD) patients to medical instructions is considered crucial for a longer life expectancy and better quality of life. Despite its importance, there is a remarkable paucity in research dealing with the adherence of patients under HD in Saudi Arabia. The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence of adherence to fluid, diet, medications, and HD sessions among HD patients in Makkah. This was a cross-sectional study in which 361 HD patients were randomly selected from HD centers in three governmental hospitals in Makkah. Individuals were assessed for adherence using the End-Stage Renal Disease Adherence Questionnaire in addition to a clinical examination and laboratory investigations. These methods were used to identify the level of adherence to fluid, diet, medications, and HD sessions. The frequency of adherence of patients was found to be high for dietary guidelines (88.4%), fluid restriction (87.8%), and medications (88.0%), but it was relatively low for adherence to HD sessions (56.0%). The overall adherence rates in the current study population were thought to be within the range of most published international studies.

The relationship between eating during hemodialysis session and dialysis adequacy, intradialytic hypotension biochemical indices and nutritional status, a cross sectional Palestinian study

The relationship between eating during hemodialysis session and dialysis adequacy, intradialytic hypotension biochemical indices and nutritional status, a cross sectional Palestinian study

Impact of therapeutic education on the choice of renal replacement therapy. Moroccan monocentric experience

Therapeutic patient education (TPE) is gaining importance in the management of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The objective of this study is to assess the interest of TPE in the acquisition of knowledge concerning CKD and renal replacement therapy, as well as the orientation of the patients towards a personalized choice of treatment. Patients with a minimum stage 4 CKD were prospectively included between November 2016 and February 2020. We proposed TPE sessions on CKD and its treatment to all patients. We explained the theoretical part through a slideshow about the definition of end-stage renal disease, its symptoms and the various methods of renal replacement therapy. A “basket” of essential material to illustrate a session of hemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD) was used to achieve the practical part of the study. Data was collected using two questionnaires: the first one, at the start of the session, included the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients and evaluated their level of basic knowledge, and the second one, at the end of the session, assessed the evolution of knowledge after TPE, leading to a therapeutic choice. The mean age of the 211 included patients was 55.59 years old (SD=15.47). Male to female ratio was 0.73. The level of education was low in 69% of the cases of whom 23.7% were employees. The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was between 15 and 30mL/min in 56.8% of the cases. Initial nephropathy was known in 60% of patients while the stage of CKD was unknown in 66.4%. Before TPE, patients with a good level of overall knowledge were around 29%, rising to 73% after TPE. A significant correlation was found between the level of education of the patients and their knowledge score before and after TPE. The choice of renal replacement therapy was taken for PD, TR and HD respectively in 36%, 19% and 11.8% of the cases, while 33.2% asked for time to think. Elderly and/or low educated patients most often remained undecided; moreover those who are young and/or educated prefer TR. During the follow-up period, 46% of patients started renal replacement therapy (36.5% started HD, 8.1% PD and 1.4% KT). The choice made by our patients was respected in 42% of the cases: in all the patients who chose HD; in 36% of those who chose PD, and 19% of those who chose kidney transplantation (KT). The final therapeutic modality was strongly linked to the following parameters: age, GFR and level of education. This study highlighted the insufficient level of patients’ information about CKD and its treatment and allowed the patients to express their choice of their replacement therapy, which is a complicated process that must ­integrate the opinion of the nephrologist and the patient’s preference to lead to an ­optimal organization of the therapeutic modality.

Quality indicators in prolonged hemodialysis with regional citrate anticoagulation with the genius system: retrospective cohort of critical patients with acute kidney injury

BackgroundProlonged hemodialysis (HD) is performed from 6 to 12 h and can last up to 24 h. To prevent system clotting some studies suggest that Regional Citrate Anticoagulation (RCA) use reduces bleeding rates relative to systemic heparin. However, there may be difficulties in the patient’s clinical management and completing the prescribed HD with Genius system using RCA.ObjectiveTo analyze safety Quality Indicators (IQs) and follow up on prolonged HD with 4% sodium citrate solution in a Genius® hybrid system.MethodsThis is a retrospective cohort conducted in an intensive care unit.Results53 random sessions of prolonged HD with 4% sodium citrate solution of critically ill patients with AKI assessed. Evaluated safety indicators were dysnatremia and metabolic alkalosis, observed in 15% and 9.4% of the sessions, respectively. Indicators of effectiveness were system clotting which occurred in 17.3%, and the minimum completion of the prescribed HD time, which was 75.5%.ConclusionThe assessment of the indicators showed that the use of RCA with a 4% sodium citrate solution in prolonged HD with the Genius system in critically ill patients with AKI can be performed in a simple, safe, and effective way.

Antihypertensive treatment of end-stage renal disease patients on hemodialysis does not alter circulating ACE and ACE2 activity and angiotensin peptides

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the main causes of death in hemodialysis patients, representing a public health challenge. We investigated the effect of different antihypertensive treatments on circulating levels of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) components in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on hemodialysis. ESRD patients were grouped following the prescribed antihypertensive drugs: ß-blocker, ß-blocker+ACEi and ß-blocker+AT1R blocker. ESDR patients under no antihypertensive drug treatment were used as controls. Blood samples were collected before hemodialysis sessions. Enzymatic activities of the angiotensin-converting enzymes ACE and ACE2 were measured through fluorescence assays and plasma concentrations of the peptides Angiotensin II (Ang II) and Angiotensin-(1–7) [Ang-(1–7)] were quantified using mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). ACE activity was decreased only in the ß-blocker+ACEi group compared to the ß-blocker+AT1R, while ACE2 activity did not change according to the antihypertensive treatment. Both Ang II and Ang-(1–7) levels also did not change according to the antihypertensive treatment. We concluded that the treatment of ESRD patients on hemodialysis with different antihypertensive drugs do not alter the circulating levels of RAS components.

Which blood pressure metrics should be used in patients on dialysis?

Remarkable progress has recently been achieved in blood pressure (BP) control based on key research findings in the general population. It has been observed that maintaining BP slightly lower than previously recommended goals leads to better clinical outcomes, provided that patients can tolerate it. Previously, BP control targets for dialysis patients were extrapolated from studies conducted on the general population. However, dialysis patients are considered a distinct group with unique characteristics, which makes defining appropriate BP targets a matter of debate. Several observational studies measuring BP in hemodialysis (HD) patients within dialysis units have shown that lower peridialysis BP (pre-, post-, and interdialytic BP) is associated with worse clinical outcomes. However, this association is likely confounded by factors specific to dialysis patients. The relationship between BP and mortality appears to be more linear in patients with fewer underlying cardiovascular diseases and longer survival. Recent studies have indicated that BP measurements taken outside of dialysis sessions, such as standardized BP on nondialysis days, home BP, and ambulatory BP monitoring between HD sessions, are more predictive of clinical outcomes. Due to the varied effects of dialysis-related treatment practices on BP, there is a lack of data from large-scale clinical trials. As a result, it is challenging to provide strong recommendations for BP targets directly applicable to dialysis patients. This review addresses various factors influencing BP in dialysis patients, including the establishment of individualized target BP levels and discussions on maintenance strategies, while incorporating a recent literature review.

Experimental hemodialysis in diet-induced ketosis and the potential use of dialysis as an adjuvant cancer treatment

Numerous in vivo studies on the ketogenic diet, a diet that can induce metabolic conditions resembling those following extended starvation, demonstrate strong outcomes on cancer survival, particularly when combined with chemo-, radio- or immunological treatments. However, the therapeutic application of ketogenic diets requires strict dietary adherence from well-informed and motivated patients, and it has recently been proposed that hemodialysis might be utilized to boost ketosis and further destabilize the environment for cancer cells. Yet, plasma ketones may be lost in the dialysate—lowering blood ketone levels. Here we performed a single 180-min experimental hemodialysis (HD) session in six anesthetized Sprague–Dawley rats given ketogenic diet for five days. Median blood ketone levels pre-dialysis were 3.5 mmol/L (IQR 2.2 to 5.6) and 3.8 mmol/L (IQR 2.2 to 5.1) after 180 min HD, p = 0.54 (95% CI − 0.6 to 1.2). Plasma glucose levels were reduced by 36% (− 4.5 mmol/L), p < 0.05 (95% CI − 6.7 to − 2.5). Standard base excess was increased from − 3.5 mmol/L (IQR − 4 to − 2) to 0.5 mmol/L (IQR − 1 to 3), p < 0.01 (95% CI 2.0 to 5.0). A theoretical model was applied confirming that intra-dialytic glucose levels decrease, and ketone levels slightly increase since hepatic ketone production far exceeds dialytic removal. Our experimental data and in-silico modeling indicate that elevated blood ketone levels during ketosis are maintained during hemodialysis despite dialytic removal.

Automatic segmentation of atrial fibrillation and flutter in single-lead electrocardiograms by self-supervised learning and Transformer architecture.

Automatic detection of atrial fibrillation and flutter (AF/AFL) is a significant concern in preventing stroke and mitigating hemodynamic instability. Herein, we developed a Transformer-based deep learning model for AF/AFL segmentation in single-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) by self-supervised learning with masked signal modeling (MSM). We retrieved data from 11 open-source databases on PhysioNet; 7 of these databases included labeled ECGs, while the other 4 were without labels. Each database contained ECG recordings with durations of ≥30s. A total of 24 intradialytic ECGs with paroxysmal AF/AFL during 4h of hemodialysis sessions at Seoul National University Hospital were used for external validation. The model was pretrained by predicting masked areas of ECG signals and fine-tuned by predicting AF/AFL areas. Cross-database validation was used for evaluation, and the intersection over union (IOU) was used as a main performance metric in external database validation. In the 7 labeled databases, the areas marked as AF/AFL constituted 41.1% of the total ECG signals, ranging from 0.19% to 51.31%. In the evaluation per ECG segment, the model achieved IOU values of 0.9254 and 0.9477 for AF/AFL segmentation and other segmentation tasks, respectively. When applied to intradialytic ECGs with paroxysmal AF/AFL, the IOUs for the segmentation of AF/AFL and non-AF/AFL were 0.9896 and 0.9650, respectively. Model performance by different training procedure indicated that pretraining with MSM and the application of an appropriate masking ratio both contributed to the model performance. It also showed higher IOUs of AF/AFL labels than in previous studies when training and test databases were matched. The present model with self-supervised learning by MSM performs robustly in segmenting AF/AFL.