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Kidney stones, CKD connection unclear, but clinicians collaborate on treatment

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It did not take long for nephrologist and kidney stone specialist David S. Goldfarb, MD, FASN, to realize that the buildup of pain radiating from the right side of his abdomen was from a kidney stone that had begun its downward migration.

And he came to the realization based on his experience with kidney stones – this was his second one – that the escalating pain meant he did not have the 30 minutes it would take by car to get to his favored hospital and employer, New York University’s Langone Health, for treatment. He told the driver – his wife – to divert to closer-by Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital. Read more in Healio.

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Adding daily potassium may improve heart health in women with high-sodium diet

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In women with a high-sodium diet, every 1 g increase in daily potassium intake was associated with a 2.4 mm Hg lower systolic BP, according to data from a large cohort study.

In an analysis of long-term cohort data, researchers also found that women within the highest tertile of potassium intake had an 11% lower risk for incident and/or recurrent CVD events during nearly 20 years of follow-up compared with women with the lowest tertile of potassium intake, with a smaller but still significant CVD benefit observed for men.
Read more in Healio.

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Founder of UCLA’s liver transplant program reflects on 40 years of saving lives

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‘It was an incredible span and an incredible career,’ says Dr. Ronald Busuttil. ‘I couldn’t be happier’

Dr. Ronald Busuttil remembers the day he performed his first liver transplant at UCLA Health as if it were yesterday. It was mid-afternoon, and he was at his accountant’s office doing his taxes when he received a phone call that a donor organ was available at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.

In the early days of liver transplantation, there was a short window to recover an organ and transplant it successfully into a patient. He needed to be at St. Joseph no later than 6 p.m. Busuttil set out with two of his colleagues for the 17-mile drive. But first, they had an errand to run. Read the full story from the UCLA Newsroom.

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Longtime HIV patient is effectively cured after stem cell transplant

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The man is among a handful who have gone into remission after the procedure, but it is not an option for most people with the virus

A 66-year-old man with HIV is in long-term remission after receiving a transplant of blood stem cells containing a rare mutation, raising the prospect that doctors may someday be able to use gene editing to re-create the mutation and cure patients of the virus that causes AIDS, a medical team announced Wednesday.
Read the full article in The Washington Post.

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Anemia Following Pediatric Kidney Transplant

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Among recipients of pediatric kidney transplantation, the prevalence of posttransplant anemia (PTA) ranges from 22% to 85%. PTA is defined as early (within 6 months of following transplant) or late (>6 months following transplant). In Frontiers in Pediatrics, Anne Kouri, MD, MS, and colleagues in the department of pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, describe the etiologies and management of PTA [doi:10.3398/fped.2022.929504]. Read more in Nephrology Times.

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Patients who receive CKD education are likely to choose home dialysis at initiation

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Compared with patients who did not receive chronic kidney disease education, those who did were more likely to choose home dialysis and a permanent vascular access at initiation.

“Treatment options for kidney failure are complex, and the majority of patients who develop kidney failure lack important information about treatment options and are not prepared to make informed decisions about their care,” Katherine Mckeon, MSPH, from DaVita Clinical Research in Minnesota, and colleagues wrote.  Read more in Healio.

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Sleep inducers do not impact CV event, death risk

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Sleep inducer prescriptions were unrelated to increased risk for mortality, major adverse CV events and HF events in patients at a CV hospital, researchers reported in theEuropean Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

“Cardiovascular diseases or concomitant cardiovascular risks are major reasons for prescribing pharmacological sleep inducers as they may trigger insomnia through anxiety or polypharmacy,” Emi Fujii, MD, of the department of cardiovascular medicine at the Cardiovascular Institute in Tokyo, and colleagues wrote. “This study investigated the association between sleep inducer prescriptions and the prognosis of patients visiting a cardiovascular hospital.” Read more in Healio.

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Q&A: Mental Health Matters

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CareDx hosted the “Ask the Experts: Mental Health Matters” webinar in partnership with the National Kidney Foundation serving Northern California and the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday, May 18. More than 600 members of the transplant community, comprised of transplant recipients, caregivers, and clinicians, joined the live virtual discussion to learn more about the role mental health plays in the pre- and post-transplant journey.

Below is a summary of the questions posed during the session, as well as answers from both the patients’ and clinicians’ perspectives. Read the full article on CareDx.com.

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Utilization of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators in Patients with Heart Transplant

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The risk of arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death significantly affected medium and long-term outcomes in heart transplant (HT) recipients, who were a special and susceptible population. Data from the National Inpatient Sample from 2009 to 2018 were examined retrospectively. Patients who underwent HT or who have had HT and received newly implanted cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) were included in the hospitalization data (excluding the preexisting ICD). Read more in Physician’s Weekly.

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COVID-19 Mortality Risk Factors in Kidney Transplant Recipients Identified

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Investigators have identified risk factors for COVID-19-related mortality among kidney transplant recipients, including intubation and mechanical ventilation.

Among 218 kidney transplant recipients diagnosed with COVID-19 at a single center in India from April 2020 to July 2021, 30 died. Investigators matched and compared the 30 deceased patients with 188 survivors by age, sex, blood group, living or deceased donor transplant type, transplant duration, comorbidities, immunosuppression, hospitalization vs home care, and history of graft function, infections, acute kidney injury, and related therapies. Read more in Renal & Urology News.

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