Salem VA Medical Center

About: Salem VA Medical Center is a healthcare organization based out in Salem, Virginia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Kidney disease & Dialysis. The organization has 54 authors who have published 95 publications receiving 3100 citations. The organization is also known as: Salem VAMC.

Serum creatinine as a marker of muscle mass in chronic kidney disease: results of a cross-sectional study and review of literature

Abstract: Background Higher muscle mass is associated with better outcomes and longevity in patients with chronic disease states. Imaging studies such as dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) are among the gold standard methods for assessing body fat and lean body mass (LBM), approximately half of which is comprised of skeletal muscle mass. Elaborate imaging devices, however, are not commonly available in routine clinical practice and therefore easily accessible and cost-effective, but reliable muscle mass biomarkers are needed. One such marker is serum creatinine, derived from muscle-based creatine, which is inexpensive and ubiquitously available, and it can serve as a biomarker of skeletal muscle mass in human subjects.

Association of Disorders in Mineral Metabolism with Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease

Abstract: Abnormalities of mineral metabolism are associated with increased mortality in patients with ESRD, but their effects in predialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) are less well characterized. In this study, the associations between levels of serum phosphorus, calcium, and calcium-phosphorus product and progression of CKD were examined. Historical data were collected on 985 male US veterans (age 67.4 +/- 10.9; 23.9% black) with CKD stages 1 through 5. Unadjusted and multivariable-adjusted relative risks for progressive CKD (defined as the composite of ESRD or doubling of serum creatinine) were calculated for categories of serum phosphorus, calcium, and calcium-phosphorus product using Cox proportional hazards models. Higher phosphorus was associated with a higher risk for the composite end point (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] [95% confidence interval (CI)] for phosphorus levels 3.3 to 3.8, 3.81 to 4.3, and >4.3 versus 40 versus <30 mg2/dl2 0.58 [0.36 to 0.94], 0.87 [0.57 to 1.34], and 1.37 [0.91 to 2.07]; P = 0.002 for trend). A 10-mg2/dl2 higher calcium-phosphorus product was associated with an adjusted HR (95% CI) of 1.29 (1.11 to 1.51; P = 0.001). Lower serum calcium showed a trend toward higher risk for progressive CKD but without statistical significance. Higher serum phosphorus and higher calcium-phosphorus product are associated with progression of CKD.

Inverse association between lipid levels and mortality in men with chronic kidney disease who are not yet on dialysis: effects of case mix and the malnutrition-inflammation-cachexia syndrome

Abstract: High total cholesterol is associated with lower mortality in dialysis patients, but the relationship between lipid levels and mortality in patients who have chronic kidney disease (CKD) and are not yet on dialysis is poorly described. This study examined the association between lipid levels and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in 986 male patients (age 67.4 +/- 10.9 yr; race 23.7% black) who had CKD and were not yet on dialysis. Associations were determined in fixed-covariate and time-dependent Cox models, before and after adjustment for components of case mix and surrogates for malnutrition-inflammation-cachexia syndrome (MICS). Lower total cholesterol quartiles were associated with higher all-cause mortality in a fixed-covariate model that was adjusted for age, race, and body mass index (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval] for cholesterol 215 mg/dl: 1.91 [1.35 to 2.69], 1.36 [0.96 to 1.92], 1.10 [0.78 to 1.57]; P < 0.001 for trend), but this association was attenuated after adjustment for case mix (P = 0.023 for trend) and abolished after additional adjustment for MICS (P = 0.14 for trend), with time-dependent Cox models showing similar results. Similar tendencies also were detected in the association between levels of LDL cholesterol with total and cardiovascular mortality and triglycerides with all-cause mortality in both fixed-covariate and time-dependent analyses. Lower lipid levels are associated with higher mortality in patients who have moderate and advanced CKD and are not yet on dialysis. This inverse association is explained in part by case-mix characteristics and the presence of surrogates for MICS.