Background: Frailty and functional decline are being recognized as important conditions in kidney transplant candidates. However, the ideal measures of functional status and frailty remain unknown as there is not a complete understanding of the relationship between these conditions and important post-transplant outcomes.
Objective: The objective was to examine the association between different measures of frailty and functional status evaluated before or at the time of transplant with adverse clinical outcomes post-transplantation.
Design: This study is a systematic review.
Setting: Observational studies including cohort, case-control, or cross-sectional studies examining the effect of frailty and functional status on clinical outcomes. There were no restrictions on type of setting or country of origin.
Patients: Adults who were waitlisted for kidney transplant or had received a kidney transplant.
Measurements: Data including demographic information (eg, sample size, age, country), assessments of frailty or functional status and their domains, and outcomes including mortality, transplantation, graft loss, delayed graft function and hospital readmission were extracted.
Methods: A search was performed in Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register for Controlled Trials. Studies were included from inception to February 7, 2023. The eligibility of studies was screened by 2 independent reviewers. Data were presented by frailty/functional status instrument and clinical outcome. Point estimates and 95% confidence intervals from fully adjusted statistical models were reported or calculated from the raw data.
Results: A total of 50 studies were identified, among which 36 unique instruments were found. Measurements of these instruments occurred mostly at time of kidney transplant, transplant evaluation, and waitlisting. The median sample size of studies was 457 patients (interquartile range = 183-1760). Frailty and lower functional status were associated with an increased risk for mortality. Similar trends were observed among other clinical outcomes such as graft loss and rehospitalization.
Limitations: The heterogeneity in measurement instruments, study designs, and outcome definitions prevents pooling of the data. Selection bias and the validity of data collection could not be ascertained for some studies.
Conclusion: Frailty and functional status measures are important predictors of post-kidney transplant outcomes. Further studies are needed to evaluate the best instruments to assess frailty and functional status, and importantly, interventional studies are needed to determine whether prehabilitation strategies can improve post-transplant outcomes.
Registration prospero: CRD42016045251.
Background: Patients who experienced acute kidney injury (AKI) may benefit from dedicated care following hospital discharge. Most of these patients will be followed by primary care providers. There is a lack of data on current practices and comfort for these care providers when offering post-AKI care.
Objective: We surveyed nurse practitioners and family physicians to assess their awareness, perceptions, practice patterns and comfort regarding post-AKI care.
Design/setting: We distributed a web-based self-administered survey among clinicians from the Province of Quebec. We asked about their awareness and perceptions on how AKI should be disclosed and followed, the barriers encountered regarding the process of care following hospital discharge, and their level of comfort and expertise in offering dedicated post-AKI care. The survey integrated direct and scenario-based questions and was conducted from December 2022 to April 2023.
Participants: We distributed the survey to practicing family physicians and nurse practitioners through the mailing list of the Fédération des Médecins Omnipraticiens du Québec, and the Association des infirmières praticiennes spécialisées du Québec, respectively. No incentives were provided.
Methods: We conducted descriptive analyses and used chi-squared analysis to compare responses between family physicians and nurse practitioners and between hospital-based and cabinet-based practice.
Results: The survey was opened by 779 potential participants. Of these, the response rate was 9% (70/779). Most participants were family physicians (79%) and dedicated 70% (±32) of their time in community outpatient clinics. Participants reported that 59% (±20) of all patients seen daily had at least 1 risk factor for AKI, whereas they estimated that 21% (±12) of recently discharged patients suffered from an AKI episode. The lack of awareness by the patient and lack of details on the discharge summary were the barriers most frequently reported impacting the overall process of care at follow-up. Most nurse practitioners (60%) and 33% of family physicians reported at least some levels of discomfort and lack of expertise when offering post-AKI.
Limitations: The generalizability of our study is limited by its response rate. However, this is comparable with typical response rates seen in electronic surveys. The distribution was limited to a single province of Canada.
Conclusions: We reported significant barriers regarding the hospital-to-community transition of care in patients who experienced AKI and the suboptimal comfort and expertise of primary care providers when offering dedicated post-AKI care. This reflects the need to improve communication, collaboration, and AKI training with primary care providers.
Purpose: Using data from Ontario, Canada, this report shows how provincial government-assigned health card numbers can be used for individual-level randomization in large pragmatic trials. We describe how health card numbers are assigned and analyze the distribution of health card digits in a trial setting. We then provide an example of how they can be used for randomization and discuss the methodological and practical considerations of the approach.
Key findings: In Ontario, Canada, health card numbers are randomly generated and assigned without regard to the applicant's characteristics. The number is a 10-digit string connected with hyphens followed by a version code (ie, 1234-567-890-XX). The number is unique to each individual and assigned for life. Before assignment, some numbers within the 10 digits are altered using proprietary business rules. We demonstrate how to use certain digits for individual-level randomization and provide an example of how we will use the tenth digit for randomization in a large new trial of different dialysate bicarbonate concentrations. While this approach has many practical and methodological advantages, it does not allow for stratification. Before using this approach, teams should consider if it will affect the integrity of the randomization and the trial, which will be influenced by the setting and the type of intervention tested.
Implications: Using provincial government-assigned health card numbers for pragmatic randomized trials appears viable, but the merits must be carefully considered on a trial-by-trial basis. The approach can streamline and reduce the cost of conducting such trials.
Background: Ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) causes cellular dysfunction and death in organs like the kidney, heart, and brain. It involves energy depletion during ischemia and oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis during reperfusion. Kidney IRI often leads to acute kidney injury (AKI) in various clinical scenarios. The omentum, an adipose tissue with healing properties, has been used to treat injuries in different organs.
Objective: This study aimed to assess the omentum's healing effects on reducing IRI's adverse effects after renal ischemia in Wistar rats.
Method: A total number of 36 male Wistar rats were used in a study on IRI-induced AKI. Rats were divided into 6 groups of normal kidneys wrapped with omentum "Sham-1" and "Sham-2," ischemic kidney wrapped with omentum as "OMT-1" and "OMT-2," and ischemic kidney without omentum as "Control-1" and "Control-2." Ischemia was induced by clamping the left renal artery for 45 minutes. The omentum was transposed onto the injured kidney in "OMT" group. After sacrifice at weeks 4 and 8, kidney histology and blood samples were analyzed for kidney function markers.
Results: On the first day after surgery, there was an immediate increase in creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels, which then decreased by day 28. Both OMT groups showed significantly lower levels of creatinine and BUN compared to Control groups on day 1, but after 28 days differences were not statistically significant. Histological analysis using H&E and Masson's trichrome staining revealed significantly higher levels of inflammatory cell infiltration and hyperemia in the OMT groups. However, fibrosis and glomerular shrinkage were higher in the Control groups.
Conclusion: Using an omental flap significantly prevented fibrosis within the renal parenchyma, slow down the AKI progression, and potentially serving as a promising therapeutic strategy for kidney dysfunction.
Brentuximab vedotin is a combination monoclonal antibody to anti-CD30 conjugated to the anti-tubulin agent monomethyl auristatin E. It is approved for the treatment of mycosis fungoides, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Brentuximab has been associated with a number of potential adverse reactions; however, reports of renal complications are rare. A 73-year-old male with mycosis fungoides was admitted to hospital with acute kidney injury following his third cycle of brentuximab. The patient's serum creatinine (SCr) was 122 µmol/L with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 58 mL/min/1.73 m2 at baseline. Following brentuximab, his SCr peaked at 1073 µmol/L over a 4-week period. Acute interstitial nephritis (AIN) was diagnosed after other causes of acute kidney injury were ruled out and subsequently confirmed on kidney biopsy. The patient was started on prednisone 50 mg daily. This was continued for 3 weeks, followed by a 5-week taper. The patient's SCr decreased to 156 µmol/L by completion of the prednisone taper. He was not rechallenged with brentuximab. A kidney biopsy confirmed AIN in keeping with injury from an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI). However, brentuximab is not an ICI. The AIN from ICIs typically has tubulointerstitial inflammatory infiltrate comprised of T lymphocytes such as the case presented here. Therefore, this represents both a novel histopathologic finding in AIN from a non-ICI medication and a rare complication of brentuximab, previously only presented in abstract form.
Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent complication associated with severe COVID-19 and has been linked to increased mortality. While vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 has shown effectiveness in reducing severe COVID-19 outcomes, its impact on the development of AKI among hospitalized patients remains unclear.
Objective: To evaluate the effect of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on the incidence and severity of AKI and 28-day mortality among hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19.
Design: Retrospective case-control study.
Setting: Conducted at the Internal Medicine Department of Hospital General Dr. Manuel Gea González, Mexico, from April 2020 to December 2021.
Patients: 413 patients over 18 with confirmed severe COVID-19 were included. Patients were categorized based on their vaccination status before COVID-19 infection.
Measurements: Key outcomes included the incidence of AKI, progression to AKI stage 3, and 28-day mortality. AKI was defined according to the KDIGO criteria.
Methods: Data were analyzed using univariate and logistic regression models to assess the association between vaccination status and the studied outcomes. Covariates included age, sex, BMI, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and inflammatory markers.
Results: Among the 413 patients, 70% developed AKI, with a median hospital stay of 10 days (range 6-17). Vaccinated patients had a significantly lower incidence of AKI compared with nonvaccinated patients (48.7% vs 74.9%; P < .001). After adjusting for confounding factors, vaccination was associated with lower odds of AKI (OR: 0.252, 95% CI: 0.140-0.452), AKI stage 3 (OR: 0.448, 95% CI: 0.205-0.981), and 28-day mortality (OR: 0.187, 95% CI: 0.064-0.544).
Limitations: As a single-center retrospective study, generalizability is limited. In addition, vaccination data were obtained from medical records, and the completeness of vaccination could not be independently verified.
Conclusions: SARS-CoV-2 vaccination was independently associated with a reduced risk of AKI, AKI stage 3, and 28-day mortality in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19. These findings highlight the potential protective effects of vaccination against severe kidney complications in this population.