KDIGO clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis, evaluation, prevention, and treatment of Chronic Kidney Disease-Mineral and Bone Disorder (CKD-MBD)

Small-solute clearance targets for peritoneal dialysis (PD) have been based on the tacit assumption that peritoneal and renal clearances are equivalent and therefore additive. Although several studies have established that patient survival is directly correlated with renal clearances, there have been no randomized, controlled, interventional trials examining the effects of increases in peritoneal small-solute clearances on patient survival. A prospective, randomized, controlled, clinical trial was performed to study the effects of increased peritoneal small-solute clearances on clinical outcomes among patients with end-stage renal disease who were being treated with PD. A total of 965 subjects were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group (in a 1:1 ratio). Subjects in the control group continued to receive their preexisting PD prescriptions, which consisted of four daily exchanges with 2 L of standard PD solution. The subjects in the intervention group were treated with a modified prescription, to achieve a peritoneal creatinine clearance (pCrCl) of 60 L/wk per 1.73 m(2). The primary endpoint was death. The minimal follow-up period was 2 yr. The study groups were similar with respect to demographic characteristics, causes of renal disease, prevalence of coexisting conditions, residual renal function, peritoneal clearances before intervention, hematocrit values, and multiple indicators of nutritional status. In the control group, peritoneal creatinine clearance (pCrCl) and peritoneal urea clearance (Kt/V) values remained constant for the duration of the study. In the intervention group, pCrCl and peritoneal Kt/V values predictably increased and remained separated from the values for the control group for the entire duration of the study (P < 0.01). Patient survival was similar for the control and intervention groups in an intent-to-treat analysis, with a relative risk of death (intervention/control) of 1.00 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.80 to 1.24]. Overall, the control group exhibited a 1-yr survival of 85.5% (CI, 82.2 to 88.7%) and a 2-yr survival of 68.3% (CI, 64.2 to 72.9%). Similarly, the intervention group exhibited a 1-yr survival of 83.9% (CI, 80.6 to 87.2%) and a 2-yr survival of 69.3% (CI, 65.1 to 73.6%). An as-treated analysis revealed similar results (overall relative risk = 0.93; CI, 0.71 to 1.22; P = 0.6121). Mortality rates for the two groups remained similar even after adjustment for factors known to be associated with survival for patients undergoing PD (e.g., age, diabetes mellitus, serum albumin levels, normalized protein equivalent of total nitrogen appearance, and anuria). This study provides evidence that increases in peritoneal small-solute clearances within the range studied have a neutral effect on patient survival, even when the groups are stratified according to a variety of factors (age, diabetes mellitus, serum albumin levels, normalized protein equivalent of total nitrogen appearance, and anuria) known to affect survival. No clear survival advantage was obtained with increases in peritoneal small-solute clearances within the range achieved in this study.

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Effects of Increased Peritoneal Clearances on Mortality Rates in Peritoneal Dialysis: ADEMEX, a Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Trial

Background It is unclear whether functional status before dialysis is maintained after the initiation of this therapy in elderly patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Methods Using a national registry of patients undergoing dialysis, which was linked to a national registry of nursing home residents, we identified all 3702 nursing home residents in the United States who were starting treatment with dialysis between June 1998 and October 2000 and for whom at least one measurement of functional status was available before the initiation of dialysis. Functional status was measured by assessing the degree of dependence in seven activities of daily living (on the Minimum Data Set–Activities of Daily Living [MDS–ADL] scale of 0 to 28 points, with higher scores indicating greater functional difficulty). Results The median MDS–ADL score increased from 12 during the 3 months before the initiation of dialysis to 16 during the 3 months after the initiation of dialysis. Three months after the initiation of dia...

/pdf/functional-status-of-elderly-adults-before-and-after-4f8wkzaisc.pdf

Functional Status of Elderly Adults before and after Initiation of Dialysis

Studies of the adequacy of peritoneal dialysis and recommendations have assumed that renal and peritoneal clearances are comparable and therefore additive. The CANUSA data were reanalyzed in an effort to address this assumption. Among the 680 patients in the original CANUSA study, 601 had all of the variables of interest for this report. Adequacy of dialysis was estimated from GFR (mean of renal urea and creatinine clearance) and from peritoneal creatinine clearance. The Cox proportional-hazards model was used to evaluate the time-dependent association of these independent variables with patient survival. For each 5 L/wk per 1.73 m(2) increment in GFR, there was a 12% decrease in the relative risk (RR) of death (RR, 0.88; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83 to 0.94) but no association with peritoneal creatinine clearance (RR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.90 to 1.10). Estimates of fluid removal (24-h urine volume, net peritoneal ultrafiltration, and total fluid removal) then were added to the Cox model. For a 250-ml increment in urine volume, there was a 36% decrease in the RR of death (RR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.80). The association of patient survival with GFR disappeared (RR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.94 to 1.04). However, neither net peritoneal ultrafiltration nor total fluid removal was associated with patient survival. Although these results may be explained partly, statistically, by less variability in peritoneal clearance than in GFR, the latter seems to be physiologically more important than the former. The assumption of equivalence of peritoneal and renal clearances is not supported by these data. Recommendations for adequate peritoneal dialysis need to be reevaluated in light of these observations.

Relative Contribution of Residual Renal Function and Peritoneal Clearance to Adequacy of Dialysis: A Reanalysis of the CANUSA Study

BACKGROUND\nStatins reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events in persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the benefit of statins in such patients receiving hemodialysis, who are at high risk for cardiovascular disease and death, has not been examined.\n\n\nMETHODS\nWe conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, prospective study of 1255 subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus receiving maintenance hemodialysis who were randomly assigned to receive 20 mg of atorvastatin per day or matching placebo. The primary end point was a composite of death from cardiac causes, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and stroke. Secondary end points included death from all causes and all cardiac and cerebrovascular events combined.\n\n\nRESULTS\nAfter four weeks of treatment, the median level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was reduced by 42 percent among patients receiving atorvastatin, and among those receiving placebo it was reduced by 1.3 percent. During a median follow-up period of four years, 469 patients (37 percent) reached the primary end point, of whom 226 were assigned to atorvastatin and 243 to placebo (relative risk, 0.92; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.77 to 1.10; P=0.37). Atorvastatin had no significant effect on the individual components of the primary end point, except that the relative risk of fatal stroke among those receiving the drug was 2.03 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.05 to 3.93; P=0.04). Atorvastatin reduced the rate of all cardiac events combined (relative risk, 0.82; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.68 to 0.99; P=0.03, nominally significant) but not all cerebrovascular events combined (relative risk, 1.12; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.81 to 1.55; P=0.49) or total mortality (relative risk, 0.93; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.79 to 1.08; P=0.33).\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nAtorvastatin had no statistically significant effect on the composite primary end point of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and stroke in patients with diabetes receiving hemodialysis.

Atorvastatin in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Undergoing Hemodialysis

The authors report a negative effect of initiation of dialysis on independent living by patients 80 years of age or older. The data show considerably higher rates of onset of disability after dialy...

Loss of Independence in Patients Starting Dialysis at 80 Years of Age or Older

https://www.ajkd.org/article/S0272-6386(13)01219-5/pdf

Association Between Depression and Mortality in Patients Receiving Long-term Dialysis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Functional dependencies among the elderly on hemodialysis.

Arteriovenous fistula outcomes in the era of the elderly dialysis population.

Dialysis patients are increasingly older and more disabled. In community-dwelling seniors without kidney disease, falls commonly predict hospitalization, the onset of frailty, and the need for institutional care. Effective fall prevention strategies are available. On the basis of retrospective data, it was hypothesized that the fall rates of older (> or =65 yr) chronic outpatient hemodialysis (HD) patients would be higher than published rates for community-dwelling seniors (0.6 to 0.8 falls/patient-year). It also was hypothesized that risk factors for falls in dialysis outpatients would include polypharmacy, dialysis-related hypotension, cognitive impairment, and decreased functional status. Using a prospective cohort study design, HD patients who were > or =65 yr of age at a large academic dialysis unit were recruited. All study participants underwent baseline screening for fall risk factors. Patients were followed prospectively for a minimum of 1 yr. Falls were identified through biweekly patient interviews in the HD unit. A total of 162 patients (mean age 74.7 yr) were recruited; 57% were male. A total of 305 falls occurred in 76 (47%) patients over 190.5 person-years of follow-up (fall-incidence 1.60 falls/person-year). Injuries occurred in 19% of falls; 41 patients had multiple falls. Associated risk factors included age, comorbidity, mean predialysis systolic BP, and a history of falls. In the HD population, the fall risk is higher than in the general community, and fall-related morbidity is high. Better identification of HD patients who are at risk for falls and targeted fall intervention strategies are required.

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Sarbjit V. Jassal

Papers

Loss of Independence in Patients Starting Dialysis at 80 Years of Age or Older

Association Between Depression and Mortality in Patients Receiving Long-term Dialysis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Functional dependencies among the elderly on hemodialysis.

Arteriovenous fistula outcomes in the era of the elderly dialysis population.

Falls and Fall-Related Injuries in Older Dialysis Patients