Renal replacement therapy in type 2 diabetic patients: 10 years' experience.

The objective of this study was to determine the impact of renal transplantation and hemodialysis treatment on outcome of elderly diabetic patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) among other factors related to survival. Results of treatment of ESRD in 78 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (type 2) showed a survival rate of 58% at 1 year and 14% at 5 years, independent of treatment modality. Patients who received a renal allograft had a higher survival rate as compared with patients on hemodialysis treatment (5-year survival, 59% v 2%; P < 0.005). Diabetic patients with a history of myocardial infarction, stroke, or peripheral gangrene before onset of renal replacement therapy had a worse prognosis in comparison to patients without vascular complications (5-year survival, 2% v 21%; P < 0.05). Analysis of patients who survived less than 6 months and more than 24 months was performed. Long-term survivors were slightly younger, had diabetes for a shorter period, and showed a better metabolic control of diabetes mellitus. Sixteen long-term survivors received a renal allograft. In contrast, only three short-term survivors were transplanted. Furthermore, short-term survivors also had a greater than 70% incidence of severe vascular complications before renal replacement therapy. A history of myocardial infarction, stroke, or peripheral gangrene is an independent predictor of decreased survival, irrespective of whether the patients were transplanted or maintained on chronic hemodialysis treatment. In contrast, renal transplantation improved survival of elderly diabetic patients without vascular complications and should be the treatment of choice in this specific group of patients.     

Unilateral renal cell carcinoma with coexistent renal disease: a rare cause of end-stage renal disease.

BACKGROUND: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a disorder encompassing a wide spectrum of pathological renal lesions. Coexistence of unilateral RCC and associated pathology in the contralateral kidney is an unusual and challenging therapeutic dilemma that can result in renal failure. So far, data on unilateral RCC with chronic renal failure necessitating renal replacement therapy have not been published. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) from unilateral RCC, and to assess the associated pathology and possible pathogenic factors. METHODS: In 1999, a survey of the 350 patients treated by chronic dialysis in Asturias, Spain, was carried out to identify and collect clinical information on patients with primary unilateral RCC whilst on their renal replacement programme. RESULTS: Seven patients were identified as having ESRD and unilateral RCC, giving an incidence of 2% of patients treated by dialysis. There was a wide spectrum of associated disease and clinical presentation. All patients underwent radical or partial nephrectomy and were free of recurrence 6--64 months after surgery. Six patients were alive and free of malignancy recurrence for 6--30 months after the onset of haemodialysis. CONCLUSION: ESRD is rare in association with unilateral RCC, but does contribute to significant morbidity. However, the data presented here are encouraging and suggest that cancer-free survival with renal replacement therapy can be achieved in such patients.     

Preserving function and long-term patency of dialysis access

Of the 283, 932 patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) receiving replacement therapy in the US in 1996, 62% were being treated with haemodialysis. Improved survival of haemodialysis patients coupled with the inability to provide enough renal transplants for the growing ESRD population has resulted in an increase in the average length of time patients spend on dialysis. Vascular accesses are, therefore, required to function for longer periods of time. Maintenance of a reliable access to the circulation has been described as the Achilles' heel of modern haemodialysis. Preserving access function and long-term patency are essential for efficient dialysis delivery.     

Patient and technique survival of diabetics on peritoneal dialysis: one-center's experience and review of the literature

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This retrospective study investigated the long-term patient and technique survival and sought to identify the predictors of mortality in diabetic patients receiving PD. METHODS: Patients, aged 17 years or more who commenced home PD between January 31, 1994, and December 31, 2001 were included. Clinical data were available for 358 patients out of 418 total patients who started PD during this period. They were followed until cessation of PD, death, or to January 31, 2003. Survival probabilities were generated according to the Kaplan-Meier method, and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess predictors of survival. RESULTS: A total of 358 patients were enrolled in the study. Among them, 139 patients (38.8%) were diabetics. The 1-, 2-, 3- and 5-year patient survival rates were 91%, 76%, 66% and 47% in diabetics and 94%, 89%, 84% and 69% in non-diabetics, respectively. Median actuarial patient survival for diabetic patients (51.8 months; 95% CI 36.0 a 67.5 months) was significantly shorter than that of non-diabetic patients (log rank 14.117, p < 0.001). Death-censored technique survival rates at 1-, 2-, 3- and 5-year were 90%, 83%, 67% and 58% in diabetic, and 94%, 87%, 77% and 70% in non-diabetic patients, respectively. Similar to patient survival, the median technique survival time was significantly shorter for diabetic patients (63.9 months; 95% CI 35.7 - 92.2 months) than that of non-diabetic patients (log rank 4.884, p = 0.027). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that advancing age was the only independent predictor of death in the diabetic patients, whereas higher age and wider pulse pressure were associated with mortality in non-diabetic patients. CONCLUSION: Long-term patient and technique survival for diabetic patients on PD seem to be improved compared to our previous report and other studies. The mortality of diabetic patients was predicted predominantly by advancing age. PD remains a viable form of long-term renal replacement therapy for diabetic patients with ESRD.     

Differences in heart rate variability parameters during the post-dialytic period in type II diabetic and non-diabetic ESRD patients.

BACKGROUND: Heart rate variability parameters were evaluated in 10 healthy subjects, 10 type II diabetic patients and 20 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients (11 non-diabetic and nine type II diabetic) undergoing chronic haemodialysis. The study was divided in two phases. METHODS: In the first phase all subjects underwent electrocardiograph (ECG) recording under baseline conditions. In the second phase only ESRD patients underwent haemodialysis and ECG recording. On the day of dialysis and ECG recording the ECG recording was started 1 h before the haemodialysis session (pre-dialytic period), and continued throughout the dialysis (dialytic period), until the morning after (post-dialytic period). RESULTS: Compared with ESRD patients, non-ESRD patients showed the lowest cardiac sympathetic activity. Diabetic patients compared to non-diabetic patients showed a prevalence of cardiac sympathetic activity in the pre-dialytic period (P < 0.01). During the dialytic period in comparison with the pre-dialytic one, a further increase in cardiac sympathetic activity was observed in both diabetic and non-diabetic ESRD patients (P < 0.001). However, in the post-dialysis period the cardiac autonomic nervous system activity remained at the pre-dialytic condition in the diabetic group. In contrast, in the non-diabetic group the cardiac autonomic balance shifted towards a parasympathetic prevalence in the post-dialytic period (P < 0.01). In addition, a significant correlation was found between changes in heart rate variability and changes in plasma urea concentration in the non-diabetic group only (r = 0.65; P < 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Non-insulin-dependent diabetic uraemic patients undergoing a chronic haemodialysis programme have a severe impairment of heart rate variability. This is probably due to autonomic neuropathy related to the effects of both diabetes and chronic uraemic conditions. In non-diabetic haemodialysis patients uraemia causes similar but reversible changes in heart rate variability compared with the changes caused by diabetes.     

Risk of death and liver cirrhosis in anti-HCV-positive long-term haemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in haemodialysis patients. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of HCV infection on patient survival in a cohort of long-term haemodialysis patients and to evaluate the percentage of anti-HCV-positive patients that evolve to liver cirrhosis. METHODS: In 1992, 175 patients who had been on intermittent haemodialysis therapy for at least 6 months were included in the study (57 anti-HCV-positive and 118 anti-HCV-negative patients). Evaluation of patient outcome included date and cause of death, kidney transplantation, and the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis. Patient survival was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by the log-rank test. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the risk of death among dialysis patients who were anti-HCV positive. Other prognostic variables studied included age, gender, diabetes mellitus as cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), history of previous transplant, transplantation during follow-up, and time on haemodialysis treatment. The diagnosis of liver cirrhosis was made based on clinical and/or histological criteria. RESULTS: Eight-year patient survival in anti-HCV-positive subjects was lower (32%) than in anti-HCV-negative patients (52%) (log-rank, P=0.03). Four variables were found to be independent prognostic factors in patient survival: age (relative risk (RR) 1.04); diabetes as cause of ESRD (RR 3.6); transplantation during follow-up (RR 0.66) and presence of HCV antibodies (RR 1.62). The causes of death did not differ significantly between groups, except that four anti-HCV-positive patients died from liver disease. Ten (17.5%) of the 57 anti-HCV-positive patients were diagnosed to have liver cirrhosis at a median of 10 years after renal replacement therapy initiation and a median of 7 years after the first ALT level increase. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, our study shows an increased risk of death among long-term haemodialysis patients infected with HCV compared with non-infected patients. This might be partly explained by the high proportion of these patients that evolve to liver cirrhosis.     

Glycated albumin levels predict long-term survival in diabetic patients undergoing haemodialysis

Aim: Glycated albumin (GA) is recognized as a reliable marker for monitoring glycemic control particularly in patients with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD). Here, we investigated the impact of GA levels on long‐term survival in diabetic patients with ESRD. Methods: We enrolled ESRD patients with diabetic nephropathy into our single‐centre prospective follow‐up study (n = 98, 66 men and 32 women; age 68.2 12.3 years) with a mean follow‐up period of 47.7 months. All patients had started haemodialysis between December 1992 and November 2003. They were categorized into two groups according to their GA levels at the initiation of haemodialysis; GA < 29% (low‐GA group; n = 54) and GA 29% (high‐GA group; n = 44). Results: Between low‐GA and high‐GA groups, there were no significant differences in various clinical parameters except GA and HbA1c levels. The cumulative survival rate of low‐GA group was significantly higher than that of high‐GA group (P = 0.034, log–rank test). After adjustment for age, sex, total cholesterol, C‐reactive protein and albumin, high‐GA was a significant predictor of survival (hazard ratio 1.042 per 1.0% increment of GA, 95% CI 1.014–1.070, P < 0.05), but not in the case with HbA1c. Cox proportional hazard model demonstrated that high‐GA group was a significant predictor for cardiovascular death (hazard ratio 2.971 (1.064–8.298), P = 0.038). Conclusion: We conclude that poor glycemic control (GA 29%) before starting haemodialysis is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and shortened survival in diabetic patients with ESRD.     

Trends in treatment and outcomes of survival of adolescents initiating end-stage renal disease care in the United States of America

This study characterizes treatment and outcome trends of adolescent patients initiating renal replacement therapy in the USA from 1978 to 2002. This is a retrospective analysis of data from the US Renal Data System (USRDS) of incident end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, ages 12 years through 19 years, initiating renal replacement therapy between 1978 and 2002. Survival analyses were conducted from either the first date of kidney failure or date of transplantation until death or 31 December 2002. The ESRD incidence per million adolescents increased from 17.6 in 1978 to 26.0 in 1990, with no change in incidence in the ensuing 12 years. Incidence was slightly higher among males than females and was twice as great in black than in white populations. The major cause of ESRD was glomerulonephritis followed by cystic/congenital diseases and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). Incidence increased with age, from 13.0 per million for children aged 13 years to 32.6 per million for 19 year olds. Three-quarters of all adolescent patients received at least one transplant, and one-fifth of patients received two or more transplants. Ten percent of incident adolescent patients received a preemptive transplant. The 10-year survival rate was lowest in the 1978–1982 incident cohort (77.6%) and improved to approximately 80% for later cohorts. Survival was better for younger adolescents, transplant recipients, preemptive transplant recipients, males, Caucasian, and Asian patients. The primary mode of renal replacement therapy is transplantation in most adolescent ESRD patients. The 80% 10-year survival rate for adolescent-onset ESRD is very good when compared with adult-onset ESRD. However, this represents a 30-fold increase in mortality compared to the general US adolescent population.     

Comparison of renal transplantation and dialysis in rehabilitation of diabetic end-stage renal disease patients

We have reviewed the outcome of replacement therapy for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in 100 diabetic patients with emphasis on late complications, extrarenal diabetic manifestations, and overall patient rehabilitation. Long-term complications, other than myocardial infarction, were not different after renal transplantation compared with chronic dialysis. Overall rehabilitation was better after renal transplantation compared with chronic dialysis (p less than 0.05). Retinopathy and neuropathy were more stable with renal transplantation and peritoneal dialysis compared with hemodialysis (p less than 0.05). These factors should be considered along with expected patient survival when deciding between different treatment modalities for diabetic ESRD.     

Nutritional status in type 2 diabetic patients requiring haemodialysis.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetic patients with end-stage renal disease are often overweight (BMI > 24) at the start of dialysis therapy. However, there are very few reports in the literature concerning the nutritional status of these patients after prolonged haemodialysis treatment. Therefore, we compared nutritional parameters in type 2 diabetic patients and age-matched non-diabetic patients after at least 18 months of renal replacement therapy with haemodialysis. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, we measured BMI, serum albumin, total protein, serum cholesterol and interdialytic weight gain (IWG), and performed a subjective global assessment (SGA) in 14 patients with type 2 diabetes and 16 non-diabetic patients (aged > or = 50 years, haemodialysis therapy > or = 18 months). Protein intake was estimated using the protein catabolic rate (PCR) and Kt/V was calculated to compare the dose of dialysis. RESULTS: BMI was significantly higher in patients with type 2 diabetes (30+/-7 vs 24+/-3, P<0.01). In contrast, the concentration of serum albumin was significantly lower (3180+/-499 mg/dl vs 3576+/-431 mg/dl, P<0.05), but six of the diabetic patients had signs of chronic inflammation. All other nutritional parameters did not differ between the two groups. In addition, there were no significant differences in the intake of protein (PCR 0.93+/-0.19 vs 0.92+/-0.22) and the dose of dialysis (Kt/V 1.13+/-0.19 vs 1.2+/-0.2). CONCLUSION: After > or = 18 months of haemodialysis therapy, the majority of type 2 diabetic patients (9/14) were still overweight (BMI > 24). The nutritional status of diabetic patients was similar to that of age-matched non-diabetic patients on prolonged haemodialysis, but serum albumin levels were significantly lower in diabetics. The lower albumin levels in the diabetic patients may be explained by a state of subclinical chronic inflammation.     

Aggressive surgical strategy should be used for the treatment of thoracic aortic disease in patients with end-stage renal disease

Surgery for disease of the thoracic artery in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) depending on hemodialysis (HD) tends to be avoided because of its high risk. However, considering that the average survival duration after HD induction is increasing, the adequacy of aggressive surgical treatment of thoracic aneurysms was investigated. Seventeen consecutive surgeries for 16 patients with ESRD with disease of the thoracic aorta performed between 1998 and 2008 were analyzed retrospectively. As an intraoperative renal replacement therapy, prior to 2001, HD was performed in six cases and, after 2002, continuous hemodiafiltration (CHDF) was performed in nine cases. In two cases, no renal replacement therapy was performed during surgery. No operative and hospital mortality occurred, despite challenging indications for surgery like emergency setting (52.5%), history of previous aortic surgery (41.2%) and aortic arch surgeries (58.8%). The five-year survival rate was 62.9%. Median follow-up was 38.8 months (1-117.6). According to this excellent outcome, surgical strategy for ESRD patients with disease of the thoracic aorta should be more aggressive than currently indicated because surgery can be safely performed by means of appropriate application of intraoperative HD or CHDF in order to give sufficient amounts of blood products and manage the water and electrolyte balance.     

Haemodialysis for end-stage renal disease in Southern India - a perspective from a tertiary referral care centre

Background. There is little information available regarding the practice of haemodialysis, its population characteristics or outcomes in India. These aspects were studied in a cohort of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients enrolling in a maintenance haemodialysis (MHD) programme in a tertiary referral centre in S. India, over a 1 year period. Results. A total of 463 ESRD patients enrolled on MHD during the 1 year period. The mean (SD) age was 38.6 (13.9) years. Definitive renal replacement therapy was instituted in 34% of these patients, including renal transplantation in 22.8%. The median duration to transplant was 93 days, and there was a 50% reduction of the original cohort by 1 month. The largest fraction left the programme (59.7%). Renal transplantation as an outcome was determined by a younger age and a planned referral from outside the state of Tamil Nadu; continuation of any form of renal replacement therapy again was more likely in the younger patient who had external financial support. Dialysis therapy was empiric but uniform for all patients, and only 50% of the dialyses delivered a single pool Kt/V ⩾1. The overall mortality was 9.5%, but 58% of the deaths took place within a week of starting dialysis, a quarter being related to severe uraemic complications. Conclusions. Haemodialysis in India is mainly a short-term measure to support the ESRD patient to transplantation. Economic factors play an important role in outcome, the majority undergoing discharge from the programme. Early mortality is disproportionately high. Subclinical underdialysis is common. The requirement for pre-dialysis care and earlier referral from the community is apparent. Prospective studies to define standards and optimize the practice of dialytic therapy against appropriate short-term outcomes, within prevalent economic frameworks, need to be undertaken.     

The renal epidemiology and information network (REIN): a new registry for end-stage renal disease in France.

The French Renal Epidemiology and Information Network (REIN) registry began in 2002 to provide a tool for public health decision support, evaluation and research related to renal replacement therapies (RRT) for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). It relies on a network of nephrologists, epidemiologists, patients and public health representatives, coordinated regionally and nationally. Continuous registration covers all dialysis and transplanted patients. In 2003, 2070 patients started RRT, 7854 were on dialysis and 7294 lived with a functioning graft in seven regions (with a population of 16.5 million people). The overall crude annual incidence rate of RRT for ESRD was 123 per million population (p.m.p.) with significant differences in age-adjusted rates across regions, from 84 [95% confidence interval (CI): 74-94] to 155 [138-172] p.m.p. The principal causes of ESRD were hypertension (21%) and diabetic (20%) nephropathies. Initial treatment for ESRD was peritoneal dialysis for 15% of patients and a pre-emptive graft for 3%. The one-year survival rate was 81% [79-83] in the cohort of 2002-2003 incident patients. As of December 31, 2003, the overall crude prevalence was 898 [884-913] p.m.p, with 5% of patients receiving peritoneal dialysis, 47% on haemodialysis and 48% with a functioning graft. The experience in these seven regions over these two years clearly shows the feasibility of the REIN registry, which is progressively expanding to cover the entire country.     

High-efficiency short daily haemodialysis--morbidity and mortality rate in a long-term study.

BACKGROUND: In conventional haemodialysis (CHD), the morbidity and mortality rate is unacceptably high; consequently, variations in the length and frequency of the haemodialysis sessions have been studied to reduce the complications of dialysis treatment. In this sense, high-efficiency short daily haemodialysis (SDHD) has been proposed as an alternative for patients on renal replacement therapy. In this study, we have related our experience with this dialysis modality. METHODS: Twenty-six patients (16 males, mean age 35.6 +/- 14.7 years) were treated by SDHD for 33.6 +/- 18.5 months (range 6-57 months). The mean time on CHD before the switch to SDHD was 25.5 +/- 31.9 months (range 1-159 months). In 23 (88.5%) patients, native arteriovenous fistulae were used for vascular access. SDHD was performed six times a week, 1.5-2 h per session, and high flux polysulfone dialysers (surface area: 1.8 m(2)) were employed. The blood flow and dialysate flow rate were 350 and 800 ml/min, respectively. RESULTS: In this trial, the patient survival was 100%. The vascular access survival after 12, 24, 36 and 48 months on SDHD was 100, 89, 89 and 80%, respectively. There were three failures of vascular access in 72.7 patient-years (0.04 failures/patient-year). In 15 patients on SDHD during 36 consecutive months, the vascular access survival after 12, 24, 36 and 48 months was 100, 93, 93 and 84%, respectively. Also, in this group of patients, there were 0.27 hospitalizations/patient-year and 1.24 days of hospitalizations/patient-year. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that in a long-time study of patients on SDHD the morbidity and mortality rate is very low. Furthermore, we observed that failures of vascular access are not a significant problem. Consequently, we believe that SDHD is a powerful renal replacement therapy for treatment of patients on maintenance haemodialysis.     

Serum C-peptide concentrations poorly phenotype type 2 diabetic end-stage renal disease patients

BACKGROUND: A homogeneous patient population is necessary to identify genetic factors that regulate complex disease pathogenesis. In this study, we evaluated clinical and biochemical phenotyping criteria for type 2 diabetes in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) probands of families in which nephropathy is clustered. C-peptide concentrations accurately discriminate type 1 from type 2 diabetic patients with normal renal function, but have not been extensively evaluated in ESRD patients. We hypothesized that C-peptide concentrations may not accurately reflect insulin synthesis in ESRD subjects, since the kidney is the major site of C-peptide catabolism and would poorly correlate with accepted clinical criteria used to classify diabetics as types 1 and 2. METHODS: Consenting diabetic ESRD patients (N = 341) from northeastern Ohio were enrolled. Clinical history was obtained by questionnaire, and predialysis blood samples were collected for C-peptide levels from subjects with at least one living diabetic sibling (N = 127, 48% males, 59% African Americans). RESULTS: Using clinical criteria, 79% of the study population were categorized as type 1 (10%) or type 2 diabetics (69%), while 21% of diabetic ESRD patients could not be classified. In contrast, 98% of the patients were classified as type 2 diabetics when stratified by C-peptide concentrations using criteria derived from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial Research Group (DCCT) and UREMIDIAB studies. Categorization was concordant in only 70% of ESRD probands when C-peptide concentration and clinical classification algorithms were compared. Using clinical phenotyping criteria as the standard for comparison, C-peptide concentrations classified diabetic ESRD patients with 100% sensitivity, but only 5% specificity. The mean C-peptide concentrations were similar in diabetic ESRD patients (3.2 +/- 1.9 nmol/L) and nondiabetic ESRD subjects (3.5 +/- 1.7 nmol/L, N = 30, P = NS), but were 2.5-fold higher compared with diabetic siblings (1.3 +/- 0.7 nmol/L, N = 30, P < 0.05) with normal renal function and were indistinguishable between type 1 and type 2 diabetics. Although 10% of the diabetic ESRD study population was classified as type 1 diabetics using clinical criteria, only 1.5% of these patients had C-peptide levels less than 0.20 nmol/L, the standard cut-off used to discriminate type 1 from type 2 diabetes in patients with normal renal function. However, the criteria of C-peptide concentrations> 0.50 nmol/L and diabetes onset in patients who are more than 38 years old identify type 2 diabetes with a 97% positive predictive value in our ESRD population. CONCLUSIONS: Accepted clinical criteria, used to discriminate type 1 and type 2 diabetes, failed to classify a significant proportion of diabetic ESRD patients. In contrast to previous reports, C-peptide levels were elevated in the majority of type 1 ESRD diabetic patients and did not improve the power of clinical parameters to separate them from type 2 diabetic or nondiabetic ESRD subjects. Accurate classification of diabetic ESRD patients for genetic epidemiological studies requires both clinical and biochemical criteria, which may differ from norms used in diabetic populations with normal renal function.     

Continuous peritoneal dialysis in children: a single-centre experience in a developing country

Continuous peritoneal dialysis (CPD) is the most commonly used modality of dialysis in children. Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) has been an established form of therapy in adult patients with end-stage renal failure in India for more than a decade. There is a paucity of published experience of CPD in children from developing countries. We retrospectively studied children with end-stage renal failure (ESRD) that had been on CAPD over the past 10 years. Thirty patients with ESRD, mean age 13±8 years (range 5–21 years), male 18, were started on CAPD from 1994 to October 2004. The mean break-in period was 12±3 days. Of these 30 patients, 15 had a total of 21 episodes of peritonitis. The peritonitis rate was 0.58 episodes per patient year. E. coli was the commonest organism causing peritonitis. On outcome analysis, 7/30 (23.3%) patients received a renal transplant, while 11/30 (36.6%) continued on CAPD, awaiting a kidney transplant. Of the rest, eight (26.6%) patients died, two (6.7%) suffered technique failure and were changed to haemodialysis, and two (6.7%) were lost to follow-up after 2 months. The mean cumulative survival time of patient on CPD was 42 months. We conclude that CPD is a viable option for dialysis in ESRD children in a developing country and is a successful bridge between ESRD and renal transplantation     

Peritoneal dialysis in diabetic patients

Diabetes mellitus is the fastest growing cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and has become the leading cause of such ESRD worldwide. In the United States, between 1984 and 1997, the proportion of new patients starting renal replacement therapies whose ESRD was caused by diabetes increased from 27% to 44.4%. Canada saw an increase from 16.5% in 1984 to 28.9% in 1997, and many European countries had similar increases. Among the modes of renal replacement, many clinicians have favored continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) for the treatment of diabetic ESRD for several reasons. Many studies have compared clinical outcomes in diabetic patients undergoing CAPD, and nondiabetic patients undergoing CAPD, or diabetic patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD) and those undergoing hemodialysis (HD). However, only a small number of diabetic dialysis patients have been followed up for more than 5 years, largely because of the presence of several comorbid conditions at the start of dialysis and the coexistence of far-advanced target-organ damage at dialysis initiation and its progression during the course of dialysis. Diabetic patients undergoing PD and HD probably have similar survival, and those undergoing CAPD have lower survival and technique success rates than nondiabetic patients of comparable age. This article reviews the literature and our experience with diabetic patients undergoing PD and compares clinical outcomes in diabetic patients undergoing PD and HD.     

Influence of dialysis modalities on serum AGE levels in end-stage renal disease patients.

BACKGROUND: The accumulation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) influenced by dialysis modalities is of current interest. Highly permeable membranes in haemodialysis or haemofiltration should be able to eliminate circulating AGEs as well as their AGE precursors more efficiently. METHODS: In our study, 10 non-diabetic and 10 diabetic ESRD patients were on haemodialysis with low-flux membranes (LF) followed by a cross-over haemodialysis with high-flux or super-flux polysulfone membranes (HF, SF) for 6 months each. We measured the protein-bound pentosidine and free pentosidine serum levels by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as well as the serum AGE peptide, AGE-beta(2)-microglobulin and beta(2)-microglobulin concentrations, using ELISA assays. RESULTS: All parameters investigated were significantly higher in dialysis patients than in healthy subjects. The reduction rates during a single dialysis session were found to be higher using the SF than those obtained with the HF (free pentosidine 82.4+/-7.3 vs 76.6+/- 8.7%; AGE peptides 79.7+/-7.7 vs 62.3+/-14.7%; AGE-beta(2)-microglobulin 64.0+/-16.5 vs 45.4+/-17.7%; beta(2)-microglobulin 70.5+/-5.6 vs 58.2+/-6.0%). The protein-bound pentosidine levels remained constant over the respective dialysis sessions. In the 6-month treatment period with the SF, decreased pre-dialysis serum levels of protein-bound pentosidine, free pentosidine and AGE peptides were observed in non-diabetics and diabetics as compared with values obtained with the LF. The respective pre-dialysis AGE-beta(2)-microglobulin concentrations decreased insignificantly, whereas those of beta(2)-microglobulin were significantly lower. Using the HF dialyser, only moderate changes of the parameters measured were noted. CONCLUSION: Treatment with the biocompatible polysulfone SF dialyser seems to be better suited to lower serum AGE levels and to eliminate their precursors.     

Increasing incidence of proteinuria and declining incidence of end-stage renal disease in diabetic Pima Indians

The introduction of more efficacious treatments for diabetic kidney disease may slow its progression, but evidence for their effectiveness in populations is sparse. We examined trends in the incidence of clinical proteinuria, defined as a urinary protein-to-creatinine ratio >0.5 g/g, and diabetic end-stage renal disease (ESRD), defined as death from diabetic nephropathy or onset of dialysis, in Pima Indians with type 2 diabetes between 1967 and 2002. The study included 2189 diabetic subjects >/=25 years old. During follow-up, 366 incident cases of proteinuria occurred in the subset of 1715 subjects without proteinuria at baseline. The age-sex-adjusted incidence rate of proteinuria increased from 24.3 cases/1000 person-years (pyrs) (95% confidence interval (CI) 18.7-30.0) in 1967-1978 to 35.4 cases/1000 pyrs (95% CI 28.1-42.8) in 1979-1990 and 38.9 cases/1000 pyrs (95% CI 31.2-46.5) in 1991-2002 (P(trend)<0.0002). In each period, the age-sex-adjusted incidence of proteinuria increased with diabetes duration, but diabetes duration-specific incidence was stable throughout the study period (P=0.8). The age-sex-adjusted incidence of ESRD increased between 1967 and 1990 and declined thereafter. The incidence of proteinuria increased over 36 years in Pima Indians as the proportion of people with diabetes of long duration increased. On the other hand, the incidence of ESRD declined after 1990, coinciding with improved control of blood pressure, hyperglycemia, and perhaps other risk factors.