Outcomes after angiography with sodium bicarbonate and acetylcysteine

Background: Intravenous sodium bicarbonate and oral acetylcysteine are widely used to prevent acute kidney injury and associated adverse outcomes after angiography without definitive evidence of their efficacy. Methods: Using a 2-by-2 factorial design, we randomly assigned 5177 patients at high risk for renal complications who were scheduled for angiography to receive intravenous 1.26% sodium bicarbonate or intravenous 0.9% sodium chloride and 5 days of oral acetylcysteine or oral placebo; of these patients, 4993 were included in the modified intention-to-treat analysis. The primary end point was a composite of death, the need for dialysis, or a persistent increase of at least 50% from baseline in the serum creatinine level at 90 days. Contrast-associated acute kidney injury was a secondary end point. Results: The sponsor stopped the trial after a prespecified interim analysis. There was no interaction between sodium bicarbonate and acetylcysteine with respect to the primary end point (P=0.33). The primary end point occurred in 110 of 2511 patients (4.4%) in the sodium bicarbonate group as compared with 116 of 2482 (4.7%) in the sodium chloride group (odds ratio, 0.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72 to 1.22; P=0.62) and in 114 of 2495 patients (4.6%) in the acetylcysteine group as compared with 112 of 2498 (4.5%) in the placebo group (odds ratio, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.78 to 1.33; P=0.88). There were no significant between-group differences in the rates of contrast-associated acute kidney injury. Conclusions: Among patients at high risk for renal complications who were undergoing angiography, there was no benefit of intravenous sodium bicarbonate over intravenous sodium chloride or of oral acetylcysteine over placebo for the prevention of death, need for dialysis, or persistent decline in kidney function at 90 days or for the prevention of contrast-associated acute kidney injury. (Funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia; PRESERVE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01467466.

Net ultrafiltration prescription and practice among critically ill patients receiving renal replacement therapy : a multinational survey of critical care practitioners

Objectives: To assess the attitudes of practitioners with respect to net ultrafiltration prescription and practice among critically ill patients with acute kidney injury treated with renal replacement therapy. Design: Multinational internet-assisted survey. Setting: Critical care practitioners involved with 14 societies in 80 countries. Subjects: Intensivists, nephrologists, advanced practice providers, ICU and dialysis nurses. Intervention: A cross-sectional survey. Measurement and Main Results: Of 2,567 practitioners who initiated the survey, 1,569 (61.1%) completed the survey. Most practitioners were intensivists (72.7%) with a median duration of 13.2 years of practice (interquartile range, 7.2-22.0 yr). Two third of practitioners (71.0%; regional range, 55.0-95.5%) reported using continuous renal replacement therapy with a net ultrafiltration rate prescription of median 80.0 mL/hr (interquartile range, 49.0-111.0 mL/hr) for hemodynamically unstable and a maximal rate of 299.0 mL/hr (interquartile range, 200.0-365.0 mL/hr) for hemodynamically stable patients, with regional variation. Only a third of practitioners (31.5%; range, 13.7-47.8%) assessed hourly net fluid balance during continuous renal replacement therapy. Hemodynamic instability was reported in 20% (range, 20-38%) of patients and practitioners decreased the rate of fluid removal (70.3%); started or increased the dose of a vasopressor (51.5%); completely stopped fluid removal (35.8%); and administered a fluid bolus (31.6%), with significant regional variation. Compared with physicians, nurses were most likely to report patient intolerance to net ultrafiltration (73.4% vs 81.3%; p = 0.002), frequent interruptions (40.4% vs 54.5%; p < 0.001), and unavailability of trained staff (11.9% vs 15.6%; p = 0.04), whereas physicians reported unavailability of dialysis machines (14.3% vs 6.1%; p < 0.001) and costs associated with treatment as barriers (12.1% vs 3.0%; p < 0.001) with significant regional variation. Conclusions: Our study provides new knowledge about the presence and extent of international practice variation in net ultrafiltration. We also identified barriers and specific targets for quality improvement initiatives. Our data reflect the need for evidence-based practice guidelines for net ultrafiltration

Renal Replacement Therapy and Incremental Hemodialysis for Veterans with Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease.

Each year approximately 13,000 Veterans transition to maintenance dialysis, mostly in the traditional form of thrice-weekly hemodialysis from the start. Among &gt;6000 dialysis units nationwide, there are currently approximately 70 Veterans Affairs (VA) dialysis centers. Given this number of VA dialysis centers and their limited capacity, only 10% of all incident dialysis Veterans initiate treatment in a VA center. Evidence suggests that, among Veterans, the receipt of care within the VA system is associated with favorable outcomes, potentially because of the enhanced access to healthcare resources. Data from the United States Renal Data System Special Study Center "Transition-of-Care-in-CKD" suggest that Veterans who receive dialysis in a VA unit exhibit greater survival compared with the non-VA centers. Substantial financial expenditures arise from the high volume of outsourced care and higher dialysis reimbursement paid by the VA than by Medicare to outsourced providers. Given the exceedingly high mortality and abrupt decline in residual kidney function (RKF) in the first dialysis year, it is possible that incremental transition to dialysis through an initial twice-weekly hemodialysis regimen might preserve RKF, prolong vascular access longevity, improve patients' quality of life, and be a more patient-centered approach, more consistent with "personalized" dialysis. Broad implementation of incremental dialysis might also result in more Veterans receiving care within a VA dialysis unit. Controlled trials are needed to examine the safety and efficacy of incremental hemodialysis in Veterans and other populations; the administrative and health care as well as provider structure within the VA system would facilitate the performance of such trials

Symptom Burden, Depression, and Quality of Life in Chronic and End-Stage Kidney Disease

Background and objectives: While many patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have impaired physical and psychologic well-being, less is known about these health domains in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). The authors sought to compare symptoms, depression, and quality of life in patients with ESRD and those with CKD

Kidney Cell Cycle Arrest and Cardiac Biomarkers and Acute Kidney Injury Following Angiography: The Prevention of Serious Adverse Events Following Angiography (PRESERVE) StudyPlain Language Summary

Rationale &amp; Objective: Recent studies in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) indicate that most cases of contrast-associated acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) are mild and are not associated with elevation in kidney injury biomarkers. We used highly sensitive kidney cell cycle arrest and cardiac biomarkers to assess the risk of CA-AKI and major adverse kidney events in patients with CKD undergoing angiography. Study Design: A retrospective study. Setting &amp; Participants: A subset of 922 participants from the Prevention of Serious Adverse Events following Angiography trial. Predictors: Pre- and postangiography urinary tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase [TIMP]-2 and insulin growth factor binding protein [IGFBP]-7 were measured in 742 subjects, and plasma β natriuretic peptide (BNP) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and serum troponin (Tn) in 854 participants using samples obtained 1-2 hours before and 2-4 hours after angiography. Outcomes: CA-AKI and major adverse kidney events. Analytical Approach: We fitted logistic regression to examine association and area under the receiver operating characteristic curves for risk prediction. Results: There were no differences in postangiography urinary [TIMP-2]•[IGFBP7], plasma BNP, serum Tn, and hs-CRP concentrations among patients with and without CA-AKI and major adverse kidney events. However, higher pre- and postangiography median plasma BNP (pre: 200.0 vs 71.5, pg/mL, P = 0.05; post: 165.0 vs 81 pg/mL, P = 0.02); serum Tn (pre: 0.03 vs 0.01, ng/mL, P < 0.001; post, 0.04 vs 0.02, ng/mL, P = 0.01); and hs-CRP (pre: 9.55 vs 3.40 mg/L, P = 0.01; post: 9.90 vs 3.20 mg/L, P = 0.002) concentrations were associated with major adverse kidney events, although their discriminatory capacity was only modest (area under the receiver operating characteristic curves <0.7). Limitations: Most participants were men. Conclusions: Most mild CA-AKI cases are not associated with urinary cell cycle arrest biomarker elevation. Significant elevation in preangiography cardiac biomarkers may reflect patients with more significant cardiovascular disease that may predispose to poor long-term outcomes independent of CA-AKI status