Acute Kidney Injury News

Patients with acute kidney injury receiving angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker therapy had lower odds of dying but higher odds of being hospitalized for a renal cause, according to data published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

SAN DIEGO — The odds of developing acute kidney injury did not differ between cannabis use vs. nonuse, according to data presented at ASN Kidney Week 2018.

Peritoneal dialysis for acute kidney injury has been shown to be a beneficial, cost-effective treatment in low-resource areas such as sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. One program which has brought PD for AKI to these underserved areas is the Saving Young Lives Program, sponsored by the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis, International Society of Nephrology, IPNA, and Euro-PD. The program was initially established in 2012 with a grant from the Kaplan Foundation. Saving Young Lives has initiated 16 programs in various low-resource areas and has treated several hundred patients with PD for advanced AKI. With nephrologists in short supply in these regions, physicians and nurses at the sites have received hands-on training in PD and insertion of a Tenckhoff catheter.

SAN DIEGO — A restrictive threshold approach to meeting red blood cell transfusion requirements can be as safe as a liberal approach for the risk of acute kidney injury in patients who undergo cardiac surgery, according to research presented at the ASN Kidney Week 2018.

CHICAGO — Leflunomide was noninferior to azathioprine for the treatment of lupus nephritis with regard to efficacy and safety, and as a maintenance therapy, was associated with a lower rate of relapse and higher rate of complete remission, according to data presented at the ACR/ARHP 2018 Annual Meeting.

Fresenius Medical Care AG and Co. reported preliminary third-quarter results on Oct. 17 that showed an estimated 6% drop in revenue, due primarily to lower-than-anticipated earnings from its U.S.-based dialysis services business. The report hurt the company’s stock value, sending its share price down 16.8% on the New York Stock Exchange.

No significant difference regarding overall mortality at 90 days was seen for patients with septic shock who had severe acute kidney injury and were assigned to early strategy renal replacement therapy compared with those assigned to a delayed strategy, according to a published study.

Hypotension and acute kidney injury rates significantly decreased after the implementation of an electronic medical record protocol which included preoperative risk stratification, multidisciplinary medical optimization and a postoperative management plan for patients who underwent total joint replacement, according to recently published results.

Short courses of piperacillin/tazobactam and vancomycin are not associated with a greater risk for moderate to severe acute kidney injury when compared with similar antibiotic combinations, according to results from a study in critically ill patients.

Pediatric patients who underwent contrast-enhanced CT experienced low rates of post-contrast AKI, dialysis therapy and death, according to results.