Reasons why Thai patients with chronic kidney disease use or do not use herbal and dietary supplements

BACKGROUND:Despite a high prevalence of herbal and dietary supplement use (HDS) in pre-dialysis patients, the reasons are unknown as to why they decide to use HDS. Objectives of the cross-sectional and qualitative studies were to determine reasons for the use and non-use of HDS in Thai patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).METHODS:This prospective study recruited 421 patients with stage 3-5 CKD from two kidney clinics in Thailand, and 357 were followed up regarding their HDS use over 12 months. Patients receiving renal replacement therapy at baseline were excluded. Participants were interviewed at baseline and in the twelfth month regarding their HDS use, and reasons for their use or non-use of HDS. Among HDS users, 16 patients were enrolled in a qualitative study and were interviewed using eight-open ended questions about reasons for HDS use. Descriptive and thematic analyses were performed.RESULTS:Thirty-four percent of patients with CKD consistently used HDS over the 12 months and 17% of all patients intermittently took them during the follow-up period. At baseline, family or friends' recommendation was the most common reason for HDS use (35%), followed by having a perception of benefits from using HDS (24%). During the follow-up period, perceived benefits of HDS was a frequently reported reason for either continuing with HDS use (85%) or starting to use HDS (65%). Negative experience from using HDS influenced patients to stop using them (19%). Although the main reason for non-use of HDS was trust in a doctor or effectiveness of conventional medicine (32%), doubt about the benefits from HDS or concerns about negative effects were frequently reported reasons for non-use (23%). Doctor's recommendations to avoid using HDS were the main influence for non-users (19%) and for those who had stopped using HDS (23%). The media and patients' social network had an impact on HDS use.CONCLUSIONS:Patients who perceived benefits from HDS use were more likely to use HDS, whilst non-users had negative attitudes towards HDS. Health professionals therefore should educate patients and their relatives about the risks and benefits from using HD

A randomized controlled trial of comparative effectiveness between the 2 dose and 3 dose regimens of hepatitis a vaccine in kidney transplant recipients.

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is able to cause a spectrum of illnesses ranging from no symptom to fulminant hepatitis which may lead to acute kidney injury. Although hepatitis A vaccine is recommended in non-immune solid organ transplant recipients who live in or travel to endemic areas, the standard 2-dose vaccination regimen demonstrated less favorable immunogenicity among these population. The 3-dose regimen showed higher response rate and immune durability in patients with human immunodeficiency virus. However, this strategy has never been studied in solid organ transplant recipients. A single-center, open-labeled, computer-based randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a 2:1 allocation ratio was conducted from August 2017 to December 2018. The study compared the seroconversion rate after receiving 2- or 3-dose regimen of hepatitis A vaccine at 0, 6 and 0, 1, 6 months, respectively, in non-immune kidney transplant recipients. A total of 401 adult kidney transplant recipients were screened for anti-HAV IgG and 285 subjects had positive results so the seroprevalence was 71.1%. Of 116 seronegative recipients, 93 (80.2%) completed vaccination; 60 and 33 participants completed 2- and 3-dose vaccination, respectively. The baseline characteristics were comparable between both groups. The seroconversion rate at 1 month after vaccination was 51.7% in the standard 2-dose regimen and 48.5% in the 3-dose regimen (p = 0.769). Overall, the seroconversion rate appeared to be associated with high estimated glomerular infiltration rate, high serum albumin, and low intensity immunosuppressive regimen. Seroconversion rate after hepatitis A vaccination in kidney transplant recipients was less favorable than healthy population. Three-dose regimen did not show superior benefit over the standard 2-dose regimen. Other strategies of immunization may increase immunogenicity among kidney transplant recipients

Neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) in leptospirosis acute kidney injury: A multicenter study in Thailand

AKI is one of the most serious complications of leptospirosis, an important zoonosis in the tropics. Recently, NGAL, one of the novel AKI biomarkers, is extensively studied in various specific settings such as sepsis, cardiac surgery, and radiocontrast nephropathy. In this multicenter study, we aimed to study the role of NGAL as an early marker and an outcome predictor of leptospirosis associated AKI. Patients who presented with clinical suspiciousness of leptospirosis were prospectively enrolled in 9 centers from August 2012 to November 2014. The first day of enrollment was the first day of clinical suspicious leptospirosis. Blood and urine samples were serially collected on the first three days and day 7 after enrollment. We used three standard techniques (microscopic agglutination test, direct culture, and PCR technique) to confirm the diagnosis of leptospirosis. KDIGO criteria were used for AKI diagnosis. Recovery was defined as alive and not requiring dialysis during hospitalization or maintaining maximum KDIGO stage at hospital discharge. Of the 221 recruited cases, 113 cases were leptospirosis confirmed cases. Thirty seven percent developed AKI. Median uNGAL and pNGAL levels in those developing AKI were significantly higher than in patients not developing AKI [253.8 (631.4) vs 24.1 (49.6) ng/ml, p < 0.001] and [1,030 (802.5) vs 192.0 (209.0) ng/ml, p < 0.001], respectively. uNGAL and pNGAL levels associated with AKI had AUC-ROC of 0.91, and 0.92, respectively. Both of urine NGAL and pNGAL level between AKI-recovery group and AKI-non recovery were comparable. From this multicenter study, uNGAL and pNGAL provided the promising result to be a marker for leptospirosis associated AKI. However, both of them did not show the potential role to be the predictor of renal recovery in this specific setting

The failure of glomerular filtration rate estimating equations among obese population.

BackgroundObesity is a major public health with increasing numbers of obese individuals are at risk for kidney disease. However, the validity of serum creatinine-based glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimating equations in obese population is yet to be determined.MethodsWe evaluated the performance of the reexpressed Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD), reexpressed MDRD with Thai racial factor, Thai estimated GFR (eGFR) as well as Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equations among obese patients, defined as body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m2 with the reference measured GFR (mGFR) determined by 99mTc-diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid (99mTc-DTPA) plasma clearance method. Serum creatinine levels were measured using standardized enzymatic method simultaneously with GFR measurement. The statistical methods in assessing agreement for continuous data including total deviation index (TDI), concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), and coverage probability (CP) for each estimating equation were compared with the reference mGFR. Accuracy within 10% representing the percentage of estimations falling within the range of ±10% of mGFR values for all equations were also tested.ResultsA total of 240 Thai obese patients were finally recruited with mean BMI of 31.5 ± 5.8 kg/m2. In the total population, all eGFR equations underestimated the reference mGFR. The average TDI values were 55% indicating that 90% of the estimates falling within the range of -55 to +55% of the reference mGFR. The CP values averaged 0.23 and CCC scores ranged from 0.75 to 0.81, reflecting the low to moderate levels of agreement between each eGFR equation and the reference mGFR. The proportions of patients achieving accuracy 10% ranged from 23% for the reexpressed MDRD equation to 33% for the Thai eGFR formula. Among participants with BMI more than 35 kg/m2 (n = 48), the mean error of all equations was extremely wide and significantly higher for all equations compared with the lower BMI category. Also, the strength of agreement evaluated by TDI, CCC, and CP were low in the subset of patients with BMI ≥35 kg/m2.ConclusionEstimating equations generally underestimated the reference mGFR in subjects with obesity. The overall performance of GFR estimating equations demonstrated poor concordance with the reference mGFR among individuals with high BMI levels. In certain clinical settings such as decision for dialysis initiation, the direct measurements of GFR are required to establish real renal function among obese population

Treatment of Calciphylaxis in CKD: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background: Calciphylaxis is a life-threatening complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD). To inform clinical practice, we performed a systematic review of case reports, case series, and cohort studies to synthesize the available treatment modalities and outcomes of calciphylaxis in patients with CKD. Methods: Electronic databases were searched for studies that examined the uses of sodium thiosulfate, surgical parathyroidectomy, calcimimetics, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and bisphosphonates for calciphylaxis in patients with CKD, including end-stage renal disease. For cohort studies, the results were synthesized quantitatively by performing random-effects model meta-analyses. Results: A total of 147 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review. There were 90 case reports (90 patients), 20 case series (423 patients), and 37 cohort studies (343 patients). In the pooled cohorts, case series, and case reports, 50.3% of patients received sodium thiosulfate, 28.7% underwent surgical parathyroidectomy, 25.3% received cinacalcet, 15.3% underwent hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and 5.9% received bisphosphonates. For the subset of cohort studies, by meta-analysis, the pooled risk ratio for mortality was not significantly different among patients who received sodium thiosulfate (pooled risk ratio [RR] 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.71–1.12), cinacalcet (pooled RR 1.04; 95% CI 0.75–1.42), hyperbaric oxygen therapy (pooled RR 0.89; 95% CI 0.71–1.12), and bisphosphonates (pooled RR 0.77; 95% CI 0.44–1.32), and those who underwent surgical parathyroidectomy (pooled RR 0.88; 95% CI 0.69–1.13). Conclusion: This systematic review found no significant clinical benefit of the 5 most frequently used treatment modalities for calciphylaxis in patients with CKD. Randomized controlled trials are needed to test the efficacy of these therapies. Keywords: calciphylaxis, chronic kidney disease, meta-analysis, systematic revie

Prevalence of Sarcopenia and Its Impact on Cardiovascular Events and Mortality among Dialysis Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Sarcopenia in end-stage kidney disease patients requiring dialysis is a frequent complication but remains an under-recognized problem. This meta-analysis was conducted to determine the prevalence of sarcopenia and explored its impacts on clinical outcomes, especially cardiovascular events, and mortality in dialysis patients. The eligible studies were searched from PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled trials up to 31 March 2022. We included studies that reported the interested outcomes, and the random-effects model was used for analysis. Forty-one studies with 7576 patients were included. The pooled prevalence of sarcopenia in dialysis patients was 25.6% (95% CI 22.1 to 29.4%). Sarcopenia was significantly associated with higher mortality risk (adjusted OR 1.83 (95% CI 1.40 to 2.39)) and cardiovascular events (adjusted OR 3.80 (95% CI 1.79 to 8.09)). Additionally, both low muscle mass and low muscle strength were independently related to increased mortality risk in dialysis patients (OR 1.71; 95% CI (1.20 to 2.44), OR 2.15 (95% CI 1.51 to 3.07)), respectively. This meta-analysis revealed that sarcopenia was highly prevalent among dialysis patients and shown to be an important predictor of cardiovascular events and mortality. Future intervention research to alleviate this disease burden in dialysis patients is needed