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NxStage Announces Presentation of Data at the American Society of ... - MarketWatch
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Clopidogrel decreases arteriovenous fistula thrombosis but does not improve fistula maturation
Clopidogrel decreases arteriovenous fistula thrombosis but does not improve fistula maturation
Nature Clinical Practice Nephrology 4, 476 (2008). doi:10.1038/ncpneph0908
Author: Michael S Gersch
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How Tulane University hospital coped with Gustav evacuation
CNN: "The lesson learned last time is, don't have lot of patients in your hospital unless it is absolutely necessary, and don't have too many staff," said Bob Lynch, the hospital's CEO.
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A Comparison of Change in Measured and Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate in Patients with Nondiabetic Kidney Disease
Background and objectives: All glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimating equations have been developed from cross-sectional data. The aims of this study were to examine the concordance between use of measured GFR (mGFR) and estimated GFR (eGFR) in tracking changes in kidney function over time among patients with moderately severe chronic kidney disease.
Design, setting, participants, & measurements: A retrospective cohort study of subjects who had been enrolled in the MDRD Study A and who had two or more contemporaneous assessments of mGFR and eGFR (n = 542; mGFR range, 25 to 55 ml/min per 1.73 m2) during the chronic phase (month 4 and afterwards). mGFR was based on urinary iothalamate clearance; eGFR was based on the 4-variable MDRD Study equation. Temporal changes in GFR were assessed by within-subject linear regression of time on GFR.
Results: Median follow-up time for all subjects was 2.6 yr; median number of GFR measurements was six. The eGFR slope tended to underestimate measured decrements in GFR. The absolute value of the difference in mGFR and eGFR slopes was ≤2 ml/min per 1.73 m2 per yr among 58.3% of subjects; the remainder of subjects had larger absolute differences. Among the 22 variables studied, none predicted a systematic difference between mGFR slope and eGFR slope.
Conclusions: Although eGFR and mGFR exhibited similar relationships to 22 baseline variables, the overall bias seen in the full cohort suggests that clinicians and researchers should exercise caution when interpreting eGFR slope as a marker of progression of kidney disease.
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Age-related Blood Pressure Patterns and Blood Pressure Variability among Hemodialysis Patients
Background and objectives: Despite the high prevalence of cardiovascular disease among hemodialysis patients, the relationship between age and blood pressure (BP) is not well understood. It was postulated that the relationship of BP to age differs among hemodialysis patients versus the general population and that there is significant variability in dialysis unit BP measurements.
Design, setting, participants, & measurements: To explore this hypothesis, the patterns of systolic, diastolic, mean arterial, and pulse pressures in the general population using data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey participants (n = 9242) were compared with those in a cohort of hemodialysis patients (n = 9849).
Results: In contrast to the increase in systolic BP with age in the general population, systolic BP was elevated in young hemodialysis patients and declined slightly among the elderly. The inverted "U"-shape relationship between age and diastolic BP in the general population was absent in hemodialysis patients. Diastolic BP was elevated among hemodialysis patients <50 yr of age and declined with advancing age. Mean arterial and pulse pressures were elevated among young hemodialysis patients and exhibited less age dependency than in the general population. Variability in BP within patients was similar to that between patients.
Conclusions: The relationship of BP to age differed from that in the general population. The variability in dialysis unit BP measurements may limit their use in managing hypertension and predicting outcomes. Nevertheless, dialysis unit BP measurements are necessary to minimize acute complications during the dialysis procedure.
