Active clinical trials for "Kidney Failure, Chronic"

Aminoglycosides are widely used for the treatment of Gram-negative bacilli and Staphylococcus aureus infections because of their effectiveness and low cost. Nevertheless, many aspects of their optimal use in hemodialysis patients remain unsolved and little is known about their pharmacokinetics in this context. The current practice for prescribing aminoglycosides to these particular patients consists in giving after each hemodialysis session about half the dose usually given to patients with normal renal function. However, theoretical considerations and emerging clinical data suggest that this may not be the most beneficial dosing regimen as efficient peak concentrations are often not attained and the occurrence of ototoxicity and nephrotoxicity is still frequent.

Many children with end stage renal disease develop hyperlipidemia. HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A) reductase inhibitors, such as pravastatin, are typical treatments for hyperlipidemia. However, we do not know how pravastatin is metabolized in patients on dialysis. This study is designed to provide preliminary pharmacokinetic data for pravastatin in pediatric patients on peritoneal dialysis.

In maintenance hemodialysis patients, regular administration of parenteral iron by addition of soluble ferric pyrophosphate (SFP) to the dialysate, when compared to conventional dialysate, is effective in preventing the development of iron deficiency, thereby maintaining hemoglobin level; is clinically safe and does not lead to oxidative stress or inflammation.

The risk of cardiovascular mortality in patients with end stage renal disease on hemodialysis is 10-100 times higher than the normal population. This is due in part to high levels of inflammation and vascular calcification found in these patients. Phosphate binders, particularly non-calcium based phosphate binders, may decrease cardiovascular risk by decreasing inflammation and vascular calcification. Ferric citrate a non-calcium based phosphate binder with approximately 210 mg of ferric iron has recently been approved for patients on hemodialysis. The effect of this phosphate binder on inflammation and lipid levels is unknown but investigators hypothesize that ferric citrate has the potential to improve inflammation and lipid levels in patients on hemodialysis by decreasing intravenous iron requirements and by improving lipid metabolism.

This study is for people with diabetes who have either healthy kidneys or who have end stage renal disease (ESRD) and are on hemodialysis that are having surgery. This research will help increase our knowledge about how having diseased kidneys and being on hemodialysis changes how the body responds to insulin. In the time period directly before, during, and after surgery, maintenance of blood sugar within normal physiological range is essential. When patients come for surgery and have an elevated blood sugar, it is up to each individual physician to decide on the right amount of insulin to treat them. Currently, there are many different protocols across the country to treat elevated blood sugar; however, there is no one specific protocol to treat elevated blood sugar at SUNY Downstate Medical Center at this time. In this study, the investigators will evaluate the change in blood sugar following insulin administration to determine whether there is a significantly different response between ESRD and non-ESRD patients. The results of the study will help develop safer practice guidelines to patients with ESRD with an elevated blood sugar while they are having surgery.

The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility, effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for pain management in hemodialysis patients.

This project will examine if enhancing Nitric Oxide (NO) bioavailability increases the rates of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) maturation in end stage renal disease patients requiring vascular access for hemodialysis. To enhance NO bioavailability the study team will utilize a program of forearm exercise training, application of nitroglycerin ointment or both. Goals of this study are (A) to measure if recruited subjects can tolerate the intervention protocols, and determine if dependent variable measures, including surgery outcome, and measurement of physiologic and biologic markers, can be obtained; (B) To measure subject compliance and adherence rates for each of the intervention arms and testing visits; (C) To examine which intervention or combination of interventions demonstrates the strongest preliminary effects in order to estimate power for a pivotal intent to treat trial; and (D) explore group differences in clinical vascular markers and biologic markers in vein tissue.

Fresenius Medical Care has developed a computer software programme called the Anaemia Control Management (ACM) software to assist in the anaemia management of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing hemodialysis. This trial is designed to assess the effectiveness of this ACM software on anaemia management in routine clinical practice. However, all ultimate decisions on therapeutic or diagnostic procedures, treatments, management of the disease, or resource utilisation will be at the discretion of the Investigator. The trial consists of a retrospective (historical) control period and a prospective (going forward) period. During the prospective period, the ACM will be used to assist the Investigators' decision making and will help the Investigators to administer a personalised intravenous (IV) iron and red blood cell stimulating agent (ESA) therapy, whereas treatment according to standard of care will be documented retrospectively for the same patients during the retrospective period of the trial. Thus, patients can serve as their own control.

To assess the incidence rate of Treatment Emergent Adverse Events (TEAEs) over 2 years in patients treated with Dynepo.

Background: To effectively alleviate suffering and improve quality of life for patients with serious illness and their caregivers, palliative care (PC) services must be offered across multiple settings. Research is needed to determine how best to optimize home-based palliative care (HBPC) services to meet the needs of individuals with high symptom burden and functional limitations. Aim: The investigators will compare a standard HBPC model that includes routine home visits by a nurse and provider with a more efficient tech-supported HBPC model that promotes timely inter-professional team coordination via synchronous video consultation with the provider while the nurse is in the patient's home. The investigators hypothesize that tech-supported HBPC will be as effective as standard HBPC. Design: Cluster randomized trial. Registered nurses (n~130) will be randomly assigned to the tech-supported or standard HBPC model so that half of the patient-caregiver dyads will receive one of the two models. Setting/Participants: Kaiser Permanente (15 Southern California and Oregon sites). Patients (n=10,000) with any serious illness and a prognosis of 1-2 years and their caregivers (n=4,800) Methods: Patients and caregivers will receive standard PC services: comprehensive needs assessment and care planning, pain and symptom management, education/skills training, medication management, emotional/spiritual support; care coordination, referral to other services, and 24/7 phone assistance. Results: Primary patient outcomes: symptom improvement at 1 month and days spent at home in the last six months of life; caregiver outcome: perception of preparedness for caregiving. Conclusion: Should the more efficient tech-supported HBPC model achieves comparable improvements in outcomes that matter most to patients and caregivers, this would have a lasting impact on PC practice and policy.