Use of Cinacalcet in the treatment of persistent hyperparathyroidism post-renal transplant. A single center experience in Argentina

Introduction: Renal transplant (RTx) is associated with the decrease in serum parathyroidhormone (PTH) levels. The persistence of high PTH levels associated to hypercalcemia is suggestive of persistent hyperparathyroidism (pHPT). pHPT is a risk factor for vascular calcifications, bone loss, and graft survival. Cinacalcet acts on the calcium sensing receptor increasing their activation by ionic Ca, reducing serum PTH, Ca, and phosphate (P) levels. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of cinacalcet in RTx patients with pHPT and hypercalcemia. Methods: We performed a retrospective, observational study in 14 RTx patients who received cinacalcet for at least 3 months as part of the pHPT treatment. Results: Pre-cinacalcet iPTH levels were 159 ± 70 pg/ml; after one month it was 151 ± 110 pg/ml, 150 ± 96 pg/ml at three months, 142 ± 64 at six months and 139 ± 75 pg/ml after one year. The decrease in the iPTH was not significant. The serum Ca significantly decreased from 11.3 ± 0.8 to 10.0 ± 0.8 mg/dl after one month (p<0.001) keeping serum levels stable after three (10.2 ± 1.0), six (10.3 ± 0.5), and twelve (10 ± 0.4) months. P was 2.7 ± 0.79 mg/dl at the beginning of treatment, keeping their levels stable after 3, 6, and 12 months. The average dose of cinacalcet at the beginning was 30 mg increasing in a non-significant way on the 3rd month to 32 ± 12 mg/d, on the 6th month to 40 ± 22 mg/d, and on the 12th month to 41.6 ± 18 mg/d. Conclusion: In this small cohort of patients with pHPT and hypercalcemia, cinacalcet was effective in reducing serum Ca levels (p<0.001), but not iPTH

Kidney transplant in a patient with Schizophrenia. Case report

We report the case of a female patient, aged 42, with long-term schizophrenia and end-stage chronic kidney disease. After approximately two years undergoing replacement therapy, she is put on the waiting list for deceased donor kidney transplant. She receives a transplant from a deceased donor with good progress and favorable adaptation to the intercurrent diseases occurring during the course of the process. This case represents a possibility for patients diagnosed with schizophrenia; they may receive a kidney transplant with good progress, highlighting different aspects to be considered in order to guarantee the success of the procedure

Outbreak of OXY-2-Producing Klebsiella oxytoca in a Renal Transplant Unit▿

We describe a Klebsiella oxytoca infection outbreak in a renal transplant unit that involved seven patients. All strains belonged to a single pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern and were resistant to amoxicillin-clavulanate, cefuroxime, piperacillin-tazobactam, and aztreonam but susceptible to ceftriaxone, ceftazidime, cefepime, and imipenem. Chromosomal β-lactamase hyperproduction was caused by a point mutation in the blaOXY-2 gene promoter region

Short and long term outcome of kidney transplanted patients with chronic viral hepatitis B and C

Introduction. Liver disease related to chronic viral hepatitis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in renal transplant patients. There is no agreement upon the influence of chronic hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) infection in patient and graft survival.Aims. The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of HBV and HCV on patient and graft short and long term survival, in the patients transplanted at our institution.Materials and methods. We evaluated the influence of antiHCV and HBsAg status (positive vs. negative); sex; age (> 49 years vs. 3 vs. < 3 years); acute rejection; kind of graft (deceased vs. living donor, and kidney versus kidney and pancreas); number of transplantations; use of induction immunosuppression; and maintenance immunosuppression treatment (comparing the traditional triple therapy containing azathioprine, cyclosporine and prednisone vs. newer regimens which include tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, sirolimus, etc) on the survival, long term and within the first month of transplantation, of the graft and the patients transplanted in our Institution between January 1991 and August 2009.Results. We included 542 patients, 60% males’ median age of 42.03 years (SD 13.06 years). 180 patients (33%) were antiHCV positive and 23 (4%) were HBsAg positive. AntiHCV positive, traditional triple therapy and acute rejection were associated with diminished graft survival. Older age, antiHCV positive, HBsAg positive, deceased donor, kidney-pancreas transplantation and traditional triple therapy were associated with diminished patient survival. Traditional triple therapy was associated with diminished one month graft survival; and older age and antiHCV positive were associated with diminished one month patient survival.Conclusion. In our experience, antiHCV positive status was associated with diminished long term patient and graft survival, and diminished six month graft survival; and HBsAg positive was associated with diminished patient survival

Hyperuricemia, chronic kidney disease and kidney transplant (part II)

Post-transplant hyperuricemia has been defined with equal values to the ones of general population, its prevalence can reach 80% in those who have received a kidney transplant, and 5 to 25% can develop gout crisis. Advanced age at implant, history of hyperuricemia or gout, obesity, treatment with calcineurin inhibitors, use of diuretics and low glomerular filtration rate are some of the factors involved in its development. Hyperuricemia has been linked to decreased nitric oxide mediated vasodilation and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle through proinflammatory and profibrotic effects (mediated by T cells, macrophages, PDGF, TGF β among others). These effects have been associated, in turn, with hypertension, cardiovascular disease and renal damage progression (related tubulointerstitial fibrosis, arteriosclerosis of afferent tubular atrophy) factors that lead to a reduction in graft and patient survival. Indication for asymptomatic hyperuricemia treatment in this population is still under debate, both in terms of the indication in itself and the type of drug used, unlike what happens in stones, arthritis, or tophi where they must face treatment must be addressed, prioritizing the interaction with the drugs used in transplantation. It must be considered that most of the available information comes from the analysis of general population, therefore studies on this population group are particularly required

Hyperuricemia, chronic renal disease and renal transplant (part II)

Hyperuricemia (HU) in renal transplant (RT) has been defined, like general population, with KDIGO Guides, as over 6 mg/dl values in women and 7 mg/dl in men. HU incidence in some populations are 28%, reaching 80% in Cyclosporine era (CSA). HU is early observed after RT, risk factors associated with its development include: advanced age at the time of RT; gout history or preexisting HU; obesity; metabolic syndrome presence (MS); graft function deterioration; use of Inmunosuppression drugs, mainly cyclosporine (CSA); use of diuretics

Dynamic prediction of renal survival among deeply phenotyped kidney transplant recipients using artificial intelligence: an observational, international, multicohort study

International audienceBackground: Kidney allograft failure is a common cause of end-stage renal disease. We aimed to develop a dynamic artificial intelligence approach to enhance risk stratification for kidney transplant recipients by generating continuously refined predictions of survival using updates of clinical data.Methods: In this observational study, we used data from adult recipients of kidney transplants from 18 academic transplant centres in Europe, the USA, and South America, and a cohort of patients from six randomised controlled trials. The development cohort comprised patients from four centres in France, with all other patients included in external validation cohorts. To build deeply phenotyped cohorts of transplant recipients, the following data were collected in the development cohort: clinical, histological, immunological variables, and repeated measurements of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and proteinuria (measured using the proteinuria to creatininuria ratio). To develop a dynamic prediction system based on these clinical assessments and repeated measurements, we used a Bayesian joint models-an artificial intelligence approach. The prediction performances of the model were assessed via discrimination, through calculation of the area under the receiver operator curve (AUC), and calibration. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04258891.Findings: 13 608 patients were included (3774 in the development cohort and 9834 in the external validation cohorts) and contributed 89 328 patient-years of data, and 416 510 eGFR and proteinuria measurements. Bayesian joint models showed that recipient immunological profile, allograft interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy, allograft inflammation, and repeated measurements of eGFR and proteinuria were independent risk factors for allograft survival. The final model showed accurate calibration and very high discrimination in the development cohort (overall dynamic AUC 0·857 [95% CI 0·847-0·866]) with a persistent improvement in AUCs for each new repeated measurement (from 0·780 [0·768-0·794] to 0·926 [0·917-0·932]; p<0·0001). The predictive performance was confirmed in the external validation cohorts from Europe (overall AUC 0·845 [0·837-0·854]), the USA (overall AUC 0·820 [0·808-0·831]), South America (overall AUC 0·868 [0·856-0·880]), and the cohort of patients from randomised controlled trials (overall AUC 0·857 [0·840-0·875]).Interpretation: Because of its dynamic design, this model can be continuously updated and holds value as a bedside tool that could refine the prognostic judgements of clinicians in everyday practice, hence enhancing precision medicine in the transplant setting