Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Access Complications (access + complications)
Selected AbstractsFallacies of High-Speed HemodialysisHEMODIALYSIS INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2003Zbylut J. Twardowski Chronic hemodialysis sessions, as developed in Seattle in the 1960s, were long procedures with minimal intra- and interdialytic symptoms. Financial and logistical pressures related to the overwhelming number of patients requiring hemodialysis created an incentive to shorten dialysis time to four, three, and even two hours per session in a thrice weekly schedule. This method spread rapidly, particularly in the United States, after the National Cooperative Dialysis Study suggested that time of dialysis is of minor importance as long as urea clearance multiplied by dialysis time and scaled to total body water (Kt/Vurea) equals 0.95,1.0. This number was later increased to 1.3, but the assumption remained unchanged that hemodialysis time is of minimal importance as long as it is compensated by increased urea clearance. Patients accepted short dialysis as a godsend, believing that it would not be detrimental to their well-being and longevity. However, Kt/Vurea measures only removal of low molecular weight substances and does not consider removal of larger molecules. Besides, it does not correlate with the other important function of hemodialysis, namely ultrafiltration. Whereas patients with substantial residual renal function may tolerate short dialysis sessions, the patients with little or no urine output tolerate short dialyses poorly because the ultrafiltration rate at the same interdialytic weight gain is inversely proportional to dialysis time. Rapid ultrafiltration is associated with cramps, nausea, vomiting, headache, fatigue, hypotensive episodes during dialysis, and hangover after dialysis; patients remain fluid overloaded with subsequent poor blood pressure control, left ventricular hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction, and high cardiovascular mortality. Short, high-efficiency dialysis requires high blood flow, which increases demands on blood access. The classic wrist arteriovenous fistula, the access with the best longevity and lowest complication rates, provides "insufficient" blood flow and is replaced with an arteriovenous graft fistula or an intravenous catheter. Moreover, to achieve high blood flows, large diameter intravenous catheters are used; these fit veins "too tightly," so predispose the patient to central-vein thrombosis. Longer hemodialysis sessions (5,8 hrs, thrice weekly), as practiced in some centers, are associated with lower complication rates and better outcomes. Frequent dialyses (four or more sessions per week) provide better clinical results, but are associated with increased cost. It is my strong belief that a wide acceptance of longer, gentler dialysis sessions, even in a thrice weekly schedule, would improve overall hemodialysis results and decrease access complications, hospitalizations, and mortality, particularly in anuric patients. [source] Incidence and Treatment of Arterial Access Dissections Occurring during Cardiac CatheterizationJOURNAL OF INTERVENTIONAL CARDIOLOGY, Issue 1 2008AMIT PRASAD M.D. Background: Arterial access dissections may complicate cardiac catheterization and can often be treated percutaneously. The goal of this study was to examine the incidence, consequences, and the treatment of arterial access dissections at a tertiary referral hospital with an active training program. Methods: Patients experiencing arterial access dissection during coronary angiography or intervention at our institution between October 1, 2004, and January 31, 2007, were identified and their records were retrospectively reviewed. Results: Thirteen of the 3,062 consecutive patients (0.42%) had arterial access dissection during the study period. The location of the dissection was in the common femoral artery (CFA) (n = 6), the external iliac artery (EIA) (n = 6), or in an aortobifemoral graft (n = 1). Three of the six patients with CFA dissection were diagnosed during coronary angiography, and because of significant comorbidities were treated with self-expanding stents. After a mean follow-up of 7 months, they experienced no stent fracture or other complication. Six patients had EIA dissections. In one such patient, the dissection was not flow limiting and was treated conservatively. The remaining five patients underwent successful implantation of self-expanding stents, and during a mean follow-up of 9.6 months, no patient had any symptoms or events related to lower extremity ischemia. Finally, one patient had an aortobifemoral graft dissection. Due to the patient's critical condition, secondary to sepsis, his family elected to withdraw care, and he subsequently expired. Conclusions: Arterial access dissections occur infrequently during cardiac catheterization. Routine femoral artery angiography may help identify vascular access complications, often allowing simultaneous endovascular treatment, with excellent short-term outcomes. [source] THE EFFICACY OF SHORT DAILY DIALYSIS,A SINGLE-CENTRE EXPERIENCEJOURNAL OF RENAL CARE, Issue 3 2010Glenda Rayment M Nursing (Renal) SUMMARY Studies have shown that patients converted to short daily haemodialysis (SDHD) have reported many clinical benefits, decreased complications during dialysis and a better quality of life. A six-month prospective cohort study was conducted to examine the efficacy of SDHD to patients previously receiving three times per week haemodialysis therapy. Following informed consent, participants received haemodialysis daily, Monday,Saturday, between 2 and 2.5 hours for each treatment and followed-up for a six-month period. The participants continued to experience hypotension, cramping and headache and were noncompliant with fluid intake. There was a gradual reduction in blood pressure, cessation of antihypertensives and reduction of erythropoietin therapy (ERT). There were no hospital admissions or reports of access complications. The nursing staff reported an increase in activity levels and nursing interventions with the participants following conversion to SDHD. However, the participants reported a better quality of life. [source] Brief Communication: Successful Isolated Liver Transplantation in a Child with Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome and a Mutation in Complement Factor HAMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 9 2010W. Haller A male infant was diagnosed with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) at the age of 5.5 months. Sequencing of the gene (CFH) encoding complement factor H revealed a heterozygous mutation (c.3644G>A, p.Arg1215Gln). Despite maintenance plasmapheresis he developed recurrent episodes of aHUS and vascular access complications while maintaining stable renal function. At the age of 5 years he received an isolated split liver graft following a previously established protocol using pretransplant plasma exchange (PE) and intratransplant plasma infusion. Graft function, renal function and disease remission are preserved 2 years after transplantation. Preemptive liver transplantation prior to the development of end stage renal disease is a valuable option in the management of aHUS associated with CFH mutations. [source] | ||||||||||