Progression of Coronary Artery Calcification in Living Kidney Donors: A Follow-Up Study

Background: Data on the long-term mortality and morbidity of living kidney donors are scarce. In the general population, coronary artery calcification (CAC) and progression of CAC are predictors of future cardiac risk. We conducted a study to determine the progression of CAC in renal transplant donors. Methods: We used multidetector computed tomography to examine CAC in 75 former renal transplant donors. A baseline and a follow-up scan were performed and changes in CAC scores were evaluated in each subject individually to calculate the incidence of CAC progression. Results: Baseline CAC prevalence was 16% and the mean CAC score was 5.3 +/- 25.8. At the follow-up scan that was performed after an average of 4.8 +/- 0.3 years, CAC prevalence increased to 72% and the mean CAC score to 12.5 +/- 23.4. Progression of the individual CAC score was found between 18.7 and 26.7%, depending on the method used to define progression. In patients with baseline CAC, the mean annualized rate of CAC progression was 2.1. Presence of hypertension, high systolic blood pressure and an increase in BMI were the determinants of CAC progression. Conclusions: The rate of CAC progression does not seem to be high in carefully selected donors. (C) 2014 S. Karger AG, Base

Prevalence of anemia in predialysis chronic kidney disease: Is the study center a significant factor?

Objective

The Prevalence of Potential Drug-Drug Interactions in CKD-A Retrospective Observational Study of Cerrahpasa Nephrology Unit

Background and Objectives: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is usually linked with polypharmacy and patients are invariably at risk of complex medication regimens. The present study was designed to estimate the potential drug-drug interactions (pDDIs) through the prescription patterns provided to patients of the Nephrology Transplant Unit of Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty patients. Materials and Methods: 96 patients were included in the study. pDDIs among every combination of the prescribed drug were analyzed using the Thomson Reuters Micromedex. Results: We found 149 pDDIs making 2.16 interactions per prescription with incidence rates of 69.7%. Approximately 4.1% of interactions were of significant severity, 75.1% moderate severity, and 20.8% were classified as minor pDDIs. The most frequent interactions were found between iron and aluminum, calcium or magnesium-containing products (21.37%), calcium channel blockers and beta-blockers (8.96%); and aspirin and aluminum, calcium, or magnesium-containing products (7.58%). We identified 42 drug pairs with probability of clinical significance. The most commonly reported clinical outcomes of the pDDIs were hypo- or hypertension (39.24%), decreased drug efficacy (24.05%), and arrhythmia (9.49%). Aluminum, calcium, or magnesium-containing drug products (33.10%) constituted the primary class of drugs involved in interactions. Conclusions: This study showed pharmacodynamics (49%), pharmacokinetics (42.94%) interactions, polypharmacy and gender as determinant of pDDIs. A comprehensive multicenter research is required to decrease the morbidity and ease the state burden

Clinical Features and Outcomes of Patients with Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis and Review of Literature

Objective: Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is a type of antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody-associated vasculitis. This study aimed to investigate the clinical and laboratory findings of patients with GPA and to determine which factors were associated with poor prognosis and renal outcome