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5 Sneaky Sources of Sugar

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Today, the average American consumes almost 152 pounds of sugar each year, which breaks down to almost 3 pounds (or 6 cups!) of sugar each week. That’s a lot of sugar – so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to that sugar may be a key factor contributing to our national obesity epidemic.

Obesity increases your risk of developing high blood pressure and diabetes, two of the leading causes of kidney disease. To protect your kidneys, it’s important to maintain a healthy weight and follow a healthy diet. This means paying attention to food nutrition labels and considering the impact sugar – in addition to fat, sodium and other ingredients — has on our diets. Read more from the National Kidney Foundation.

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The Kidney Transplant Waitlist – What You Need to Know

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Is transplant the best option for patients with kidney disease?

For the majority of patients, transplantation is the best option. Kidney transplant is not a cure for kidney disease, but it can help you live longer and with a better quality of life. Kidney transplants come from either living organ donors, or deceased organ donors. A live donor kidney transplant is considered the best option for people with kidney disease. Transplant is not an option for everyone. Speak with your healthcare team to decide if transplant is an option for you. Read more from the National Kidney Foundation.

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Kidney Transplantation From COVID-19 Positive Donors Is Safe

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Transplanting kidneys from COVID-19-positive deceased donors appears safe, according to early results from a case series presented at AUA 2022.

At an AUA press conference, Alvin Wee, MD, MBA, program director for kidney transplantation at Glickman Urologic and Kidney Institute at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, reported results from 55 patients (36 men and 19 women) who received kidneys from 34 COVID-19-positive deceased donors from February to October 2021. Of the 34 donors, 13 (38.2%) had died from COVID-19-related causes and 6 (17.6%) had received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Donor selection criteria evolved to the point that only COVID-19-positive donors without significant primary or secondary kidney injury were selected. The average Kidney Donor Profile Index was 36.9. Read more in Renal & Urology News.

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People with chronic lung diseases more likely to have delayed, avoided care during pandemic

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SAN FRANCISCO — During the COVID-19 pandemic, people with chronic lung diseases, including asthma and COPD, were more likely to delay or avoid medical care compared with the general population or those with other COVID-19 risk factors

At the American Thoracic Society International Conference, Jane C. Fazio, MD, pulmonary critical care fellow at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, presented results of a cross-sectional secondary analysis of National Health Interview Survey data from the third and fourth quarters of 2020. Read the full story in Healio.

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Treating Depression When You’re on Dialysis

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A recent study looked at how well two treatments for depression work for people on dialysis.

Depression is common in people who are on dialysis. Depression worsens your quality of life, makes you feel tired, and can affect your kidney health as well as your overall well-being.

There are many ways to treat depression, but not all ways work well for people who are on dialysis. Read the full story from Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

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What a Gene and Its Risks Could Mean for Kidney Transplants

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Kidneys from Black donors are automatically downgraded in transplant assessments, but studying a gene variant could help change that.

Transplant specialists, when evaluating kidneys that come from donors, try to work out how likely it is that the kidney will fail after being transplanted into a recipient. Their risk calculations consider factors including the donor’s age, height, weight and history of diabetes. And, to the dismay of some researchers, it also includes the donor’s race.

Kidneys from deceased Black donors are automatically downgraded as higher risk.
Read the full story in The New York Times.

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MELD Scoring for Liver Transplants in Need of Sex Adjustment, Study Says

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— Researchers find “pervasive sex differences” in sodium-adjusted MELD scoring system

Laboratory traits used in the calculation of sodium-adjusted model for end-stage liver disease (MELDNa) scores placed women at a distinct disadvantage, researchers reported.

In an electronic health record (EHR)-based study of more than 600,000 participants, all calculated laboratory values that make up the scoring system showed significant and “pervasive sex differences” between women and men, respectively (P<0.001 for all):
-Mean creatinine: 0.79 vs 0.99 mg/dL
-Bilirubin: 0.58 vs 0.76 mg/dL
-International normalized ratio of prothrombin rate: 1.20 vs 1.24
-Sodium: 139.03 vs 139.00 mEq/L
Read the full story in MedPage Today.

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How Donation After Cardiac Death Heart Transplants Are Benefitting Care Centers

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A Massachusetts General Hospital investigator explains how the innovative DCD practice addresses both waitlist issues and transplant center’s capabilities.

A relatively new method of evaluating would-be donor hearts may revolutionize the capability of transplant centers helping patients in dire need while on the US waitlist.

At institutions including Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), it’s already making a difference in vital heart transplant resourcing and strategy. Read the full story in HCPLive.

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Researchers recommend kidney transplant recipients continue getting COVID-19 vaccinations

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Although COVID-19 vaccines lower the risk of infection among kidney transplant recipients, breakthrough infections can occur, and researchers recommend patients continue to receive boosters when available.

“The SARS-CoV-2 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines have shown high clinical efficacy in preventing COVID-19 in the immunocompetent population,” Ivan Zahradka, MD, from the Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine in the Czech Republic, and colleagues wrote. They added, “However, data about the effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are conflicting, and to what extent the two doses of an mRNA vaccine protect [kidney transplant recipients] KTRs from COVID-19 is unclear.” Read the full story in Healio.

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Tips on How to Handle PH and Transplant Baggage

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What is baggage? According to Merriam-Webster, it’s one of three things: suitcases, transportable equipment, or intangible things such as feelings and circumstances that get in the way. What kind of baggage do people living with pulmonary hypertension (PH) often take everywhere they go?

The answer: all of it!

In addition to emotional baggage, they have the burden of emergency preparedness and must have a suitcase packed and medical equipment and supplies ready for an unplanned trip to the hospital. Read the full story in Pulmonary Hypertension News.

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