SARS-COV-2 Screening in Dialysis Facilities
End-stage Renal DiseaseSARS-CoV-2 Acute Respiratory Disease1 morePatients receiving dialysis are one of the highest risk groups for serious illness with SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition to the inherent risks of travel to and dialysis within indoor facilities, patients receiving dialysis are more likely to be older, non-white, from disadvantaged backgrounds, and have impaired immune responses to viral infections and vaccinations. Universal testing offered at hemodialysis facilities could shield this vulnerable population from exposure, enable early identification and treatment for those affected, and reduce transmission to other patients and family members. In this pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial as part of NIH RADx-UP Consortium, we will randomize 62 US Renal Care facilities with an estimated 2480 patients to static versus dynamic universal screening testing strategies. Static universal screening will involve offering patients SARS-CoV-2 screening tests every two weeks; the dynamic universal screening strategy will vary the frequency of testing from once every week to once every four weeks, depending on community COVID-19 case rates. We hypothesize that patients dialyzing at facilities randomized to a dynamic testing frequency responsive to community case rates will have higher test acceptability (primary outcome), experience lower rates of COVID-19 death and hospitalization, and report better experience-of-care metrics.
Kidney Alone Versus Islet-After-Kidney in Type 1 Diabetic Kidney Transplant Recipient.
type1diabetesRenal Failure1 moreIslet transplantation is associated with a benefit on glycaemic control compared to optimized insulin therapy in recent clinical trials. However, there is a lack of evidence concerning the long-term impact of islet transplantation on type 1 diabetic kidney transplant recipients' prognosis. The objective of the study is to assess the impact of islet transplantation in patients with type 1 diabetes and a kidney transplantation on the risk of graft failure. Every type 1 diabetic recipient transplanted with a kidney in France between 2000 and 2017 is included. Patients transplanted with pancreatic islets are compared to controls treated with insulin alone according to a matching method based on time-dependent propensity scores which allow to ensure patients comparability at the time of islet transplantation. Time-dependent propensity scores are built according to variables associated with both the probabilities of being transplanted with islets and the outcome of interest. These variables are assessed by a direct acyclic graph. The primary outcome consists in death-uncensored graft survival, defined by death or return to dialysis. Secondary outcomes include the risk of death, or the risk of death-censored graft survival.
International (Pediatric) Peritoneal Biobank
Kidney FailureChronic3 moreWithin few years the peritoneal membrane of adult peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients undergoes substantial morphological transformation, including progressive fibrosis, vasculopathy and neoangiogenesis. Ultrafiltration capacity steadily declines and ultimately results in PD failure. In children, peritoneal biopsies demonstrating PD associated alterations have not yet been obtained. They, however, should be particularly informative, since secondary tissue and vascular pathology related to ageing or diabetes is absent. An international, prospective peritoneal membrane biopsy study in children on PD will therefore be performed. Biopsies will be obtained at time of PD catheter insertion, on occasion of intercurrent abdominal surgery (e.g. hernia repair, catheter exchange) and at time of renal transplantation. Quantitative histomorphometry and tissue protein expression analyses will be correlated with time integrated PD treatment modalities and functional characteristics as well as inflammatory and cardiovascular comorbidity surrogate parameter. Blood will be obtained during clinical routine sampling. Biopsies will be obtained during clinically indicated operations, without substantially increasing operation time and associated surgical risks. The detailed histomorphometry of the PD membrane will give additional information, potentially impacting on the individual PD regime. 3/2018: The analyses of the pediatric PD biopsy demonstrated early and major transformation of the peritoneal membrane with neutral pH low GDP fluids, and significant vasculopathy already in children with CKD stage 5, further progressing with PD. The underlying mechanisms are partly understood, only. In view of these major findings and the numerous open questions, collection of biosamples will be continued in children and also in adult PD patients. The following questions will be addressed: Molecular counterparts of peritoneal semi-permeability, solute and water transport (beyond AQP1), pathomechanisms and molecular and functional impact of peritoneal transformation with low and high GDP fluids, and the respective pathomechanisms and molecular and functional impact of vascular disease in CKD and with different PD fluids. The impact of renal transplantation following PD will be assessed in a subgroup of patients with tenckhoff catheter removal several weeks after transplantation and a functioning graft.
Vaccination Against COVID-19 in Chronic Kidney Disease
Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 5 on DialysisChronic Kidney Disease Stage 5 With Transplant1 moreThis is a prospective, multi-center, observational study that will enroll patients receiving dialysis (hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis) or patients with kidney transplantation who will be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Albumin Dialysis in End-Stage Renal Disease: Detoxification Capacity and Impact on Vascular Endothelial...
Chronic Kidney DiseaseThe uremic syndrome is mainly related to the retention of a host of compounds, due to altered glomerular filtration and other factors of renal dysfunction, e.g. tubular secretion. Uremic retention solutes are arbitrarily subdivided in three different categories according to their physicochemical characteristics and their subsequent behaviour during dialysis: (i) the small, water-soluble, non-protein bound compounds, (ii) the larger middle molecules, mainly peptides and (iii) the small protein-bound compounds (1). Although direct proof is lacking, several lines of evidence indicate that albumin is the most important carrier protein. Removal of protein bound uremic retention solutes is limited. The Prometheus® system fractionates blood into plasma and cellular components, using an albumin-permeable polysulfon filter (AlbuFlow®) with a specially designed sieving coefficient curve (1.0 for 2-microglobulin, >0.6 for albumin, <0.3 for IgG, <0.1 for fibrinogen and <0.01 for IgM). Due to the high sieving coefficient of the filter for large molecules (i.e. cut-off at about 250 kD) molecules up to the size of albumin (69 kD) easily pass from blood into the secondary circuit which is filled with isotonic sodium chloride solution, whereas larger molecules like fibrinogen (340 kD) cannot pass through the filter. In the secondary circuit the filtered plasma with the albumin-bound toxins flows through one or two adsorbers in a row with maximized adsorption capacity for putative liver toxins that are directly adsorbed ('fractionated plasma separation and adsorption' or FPSA). The purified plasma is then returned to the blood side of the albumin filter. In order to eliminate water-soluble toxins, blood thereafter undergoes hemodialysis using a conventional high-flux dialyser. We hypothesise that removal of protein bound uremic retention solutes can be improved by FPSA as compared to standard hemodialysis.
Advanced Ultrasound Applications for Predicting AVF Outcomes
End Stage Renal DiseasesRenal Failure1 moreHaemodialysis is a renal replacement therapy that can be introduced to patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) to help them maintain a good healthy life. The patient's blood is pumped through a dialysis machine to remove excess fluid, salt and waste, then it is pumped back into the patient's circulation system. In order to carry out haemodialysis, vascular access (VA) is required to connect the patient to the dialysis machine. Patients have only three options of vascular access: arteriovenous fistula (AVF), an anastomosis between a native vein and an artery; arteriovenous graft (AVG), a connection between a synthetic tube and native blood vessels; and (3) central line, a cuffed catheter placed in a large neck vein. Arteriovenous fistulas are the preferred method for VA because of their longevity and causing the least number of complications. Although there are a number of factors that may increase the probability of AVF failure rate such as age and gender of the patient, poor native vessel structure, medications and the level of surgical experience, 30-40% of new AVFs fail to mature for unknown reasons. For an AVF to become functionally mature postoperative, remodelling and dilation of the native artery and vein are essential to accommodate significantly increased blood flow. However, pre-existing diseases in patients with ESRD such as arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction may impair AVF and preclude dialysis. It has been asserted that the lack of AVF success is attributable to insufficient arterial dilation because of poor arterial wall elasticity. The study aims to investigate the role of arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction in predicting AVF outcome using novel non-invasive ultrasound applications: 2D shear wave elastography and 2D strain speckle tracking will be employed to assess arterial stiffness, while an intraoperative flow-mediated dilation (FMD) technique will be used to evaluate endothelial dysfunction.
Home With TablO outcoMEs (HOME) Registry
End Stage Renal DiseaseProspective, multicenter, single arm, post-market study to evaluate real world clinical outcomes in ESRD patients receiving in-home dialysis on the Tablo Hemodialysis System.
Vienna Vascular Access Studied on Exchange of Dialysis Catheters for Shunts Where Feasible
End Stage Renal Failure on DialysisWe will conduct a cross-section analysis regarding patients with catheter-based vascular Access (VA) in Vienna. Collected data will include demographic and clinical information such as age, gender, co-morbidities and imaging data from sonography and computer tomography. Patients of interest will be assessed through a standardized clinician-executed questionnaire aimed at investigating their medical history regarding their VA. Patients will be evaluated for the feasibility of an arteriovenous VA. Patients will receive standard of care ultrasound-based arterial and venous mapping.
Acoustic Analysis of VA Sounds
End Stage Renal DiseaseHemodialysis Access FailureEnd-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a growing global health problem, strictly connected with progressive ageing population and longer survival of patients living on renal replacement therapy. The majority of ESRD patients is on hemodialysis (HD) treatment. A successful HD procedure requires a functioning vascular access (VA) to provide safe and long-lasting way to connect patient circulation to the artificial kidney. The current recommendation for VA is the native arteriovenous fistula (AVF), surgically created in the forearm by an anastomosis between a vein and an artery. The AVF, despite being the first-choice treatment, is still affected by high non-maturation and early failure rates, requiring in most of the cases, the creation of a new VA. An arteriovenous graft (AVG) is the second choice for a VA. Surgery is done using an artificial plastic tube that connects an artery to a vein. The AVG matures earlier than AVF (2/3 vs 6 weeks), but it is more prone to infections and has lower survival. It would be important to identify patients at risk of VA failure, but there is currently a lack of adequate strategies for surveillance. A continuous monitoring of the VA function would help in identification of reduced blood flow and VA stenosis, that could be treated by interventional radiologists before AVF or AVG complete closure. Over the years, nurses and nephrologists got used to touch the VA and qualitatively evaluate its vibration, named "thrill", and the sounds emitted by the same using their stethoscope. The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of VA sound recording and analysis and provide preliminary evidence of VA sound clinical validity and utility to assess, monitor and predict vascular remodelling occurring in AVFs and AVGs. This is a single center prospective observational study involving the acquisition of VA sounds and Doppler US examinations in consenting patients with ESRD. To reach this goal, two groups of ESRD patients in need of VA surgery to perform HD treatment will be involved: Group 1. Patients with AVF as first line HD access option. Group 2. Patients with AVG as first line HD access option.
HOLT-ED: Holter-monitoring in End-stage Renal Disease
Kidney FailureChronic8 moreThe main objective of this prospective cohort study is to assess arrhythmia burden and glycemic variability in a multicenter cohort of patients with end-stage renal disease using a sufficient observation period in order to identify arrhythmia burden and type and characterize associations with patient characteristics and dialysis treatment, glycemic variability and subsequent risk of adverse outcomes.