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Should femoral catheterization for acute RRT be avoided to prevent infection?
Should femoral catheterization for acute RRT be avoided to prevent infection?
Nature Clinical Practice Nephrology 4, 466 (2008). doi:10.1038/ncpneph0885
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RPA and ESRD networks launch kidney patient safety initiative, including a new website.
Kidney Patients Safety: he web site aims to provide information and best practices to prevent the occurrence of the Five Adverse Patient Safety Events identified through patient and professional surveys that form the core of the site. Keeping Kidney Patients Safe also assists nephrology professionals in meeting the quality assessment and performance improvement (QAPI) portion of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Conditions for Coverage for End Stage Renal Disease Facilities. Links to other patient safety resources, a patient safety improvement program toolkit and articles spotlighting various safety improvement programs and other resources are also offered to nephrology professionals.
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Tired of jogging to burn more calories? Try working on a crossword puzzle.
EurekAlert: A Universite Laval research team has demonstrated that intellectual work induces a substantial increase in calorie intake. The details of this discovery, which could go some way to explaining the current obesity epidemic, are published in the most recent issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.
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Higher Strength Lanthanum Carbonate Provides Serum Phosphorus Control With a Low Tablet Burden and Is Preferred by Patients and Physicians: A Multicenter Study
Background and objectives: Management of hyperphosphatemia, a predictor of mortality in chronic kidney disease, is challenging. Nonadherence to dietary phosphate binders, in part, contributes to uncontrolled serum phosphorus levels. This phase IIIb trial assessed the efficacy of increased dosages (3000 to 4500 mg/d) of reformulated lanthanum carbonate (500-, 750-, and 1000-mg tablets) in nonresponders to dosages of up to 3000 mg/d.
Design, setting, participants, & measurements: This 8-wk study with a 4-mo open-label extension enrolled 513 patients who were undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. Patients who achieved serum phosphorus control at week 4 with ≤3000 mg/d lanthanum carbonate entered cohort A; nonresponders were randomly assigned to receive 3000, 3750, or 4500 mg/d (cohort B). The primary outcome measure was the control rate for predialysis serum phosphorus levels at the end of week 8, among patients in cohort B.
Results: At the end of week 4, 54% of patients achieved serum phosphorus control at dosages ≤3000 mg/d administered as one tablet per meal. Among patients who entered cohort B, control rates of 25, 38, and 32% for patients who were randomly assigned to 3000, 3750, or 4500 mg/d lanthanum carbonate, respectively, were achieved, with no increase in adverse events. Patients and physicians reported significantly higher levels of satisfaction with reformulated lanthanum carbonate compared with previous phosphate binders, partly because of reduced tablet burden with higher dosage strengths. Physicians and patients also expressed a preference for lanthanum carbonate over previous medication.
Conclusions: Reformulated lanthanum carbonate is an effective phosphate binder that may reduce daily tablet burden.
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Chronic Kidney Disease Heightens Medical-Error Risk - MedPage Today
