Fluid Management News

Among the top stories from the National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings are a presentation that showed fluid resuscitation is critical when initially treating septic shock and a poster about the potential benefits of probiotics for patients with end-stage renal disease. Other stories include findings about the potential impact of plant-based diets on diabetes, a keynote address about the need for nephrology providers to shift their focus to the health outcomes of patients and data on the mortality rate of Medicare patients on dialysis.

AUSTIN, Texas — Fluid resuscitation is critical in the initial treatment of septic shock, according to a presenter here at the National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Patients treated with combined hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis from the start of renal replacement therapy showed advantages over patients who used a single therapy only, according to researchers from Japan who presented at the Annual Dialysis Conference here. The combined therapy helped the study group stay on dialysis for more than 10 years.

ORLANDO, Fla. — “Interestingly, clotting events only occurred in patients on heparin-free hemodialysis and warfarin,” said Graham Abra, MD, here at the Annual Dialysis Conference.

Two studies by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers show that using saline as IV fluid therapy creates a higher risk of kidney complications for most patients.

Cervantes L, et al. JAMA Intern Med. 2018;doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.7039.

The FDA has approved orphan drug designation for a new supplemental dialysate solution for patients on peritoneal dialysis.

DaVita’s pharmacy benefit business has agreed to pay $63.7 million in a settlement with the federal Department of Justice, the Office of Inspector General of HHS and the U.S. Attorney General of Texas over allegations that it billed federal health care programs for kidney drugs that were never used and for offering financial inducements to patients to accept manufacturer’s copay cards and claim they were unable to help pay for the drugs themselves.

A new study indicates that impaired thyroid function may have detrimental effects on dialysis patients' health and well-being. The findings appear in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

A new study published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology indicates that many nursing home residents receiving dialysis do not have advance directives that sufficiently address end-of-life treatment decisions. Those with advance directives that put limitations on treatments and designated surrogate decision makers had fewer hospitalizations, intensive procedures, and inpatient deaths, and they were more likely to use hospice and discontinue dialysis prior to death. The study found that nearly all patients with an advance directive requesting treatment limitations received end-of-life care that was in line with their preferences.