Active clinical trials for "Kidney Failure, Chronic"

Despite the tremendous advances in dialysis technology, hemodialysis (HD) is a significant challenge for dialysis patients and quality of their lives[2]. Research has shown for years that dialysate fluid temperature and especially the typical dialysis (TD) temperature at (37°C) are complicated by hemodynamic instability which leading to an increased risk of heat-induced hypotension causing patient discomfort and increased mortality. Cold dialysis (CD) is defined as the reduction of dialysis fluid temperature to 35-36°C, approximately 1°C below the typical dialysate temperature which ranges between 37-38°C. A number of studies have reported beneficial effects of CD on maintaining hemodynamic stability, minimizes hypotension and exerts a protective effect over major organs including the heart and brain. In addition, current evidence showed the protective effect of CD in cardiac performance during the dialysis session. As the investigators know until today cardiovascular mortality is an important issue for nephrologists that care for ESRD patients, however, many other benefits have been observed on patients' overall health and quality of life levels by used of CD. The above-mentioned benefits of CD in the hemodynamic stability and the general quality of life of the patients are highlighted even further due to the ever-increasing adoption of intradialytic exercise programs. It has been well established that intradialytic exercise leads to benefits of physiological, functional, and psychological deterioration, which commonly accrues as a consequence of biological aging, catabolic illness, and a sedentary lifestyle, factors that may all contribute to the progressive decline of vitality and quality of life commonly observed in ESRD patients. However, despite a strong rationale for the implementation of intradialytic exercise programs and the aforementioned benefits of CD, the separate and combined effects of these protocols in aspects related to quality of life and health in ESRD patients have not been investigated to date. The aim of the current clinical study was to assess the effect of exercise rehabilitation regimes in combination with changes in dialysate temperature in aspects related to quality of life and health in end-stage renal disease patients receiving hemodialysis.

Successful communication between patients, caregivers, and physicians can improve how patients feel about their treatment. Our recent studies of older dialysis patients find, however, that many patients do not engage in this type of communication about treatment options. This study aims to determine whether the Decision-Aid for Renal Therapy (DART), a web-based program, can improve shared decision-making (decisions where patients are actively engaged) among patients, caregivers, and physicians, and improve certainty and satisfaction in treatment decisions.

The aim of the study is to understand how Amisulpride is taken up and distributed around the body and how quickly it is eliminated, when given by mouth and into a vein in adults with severe kidney disease. In addition it is important to understand how well tolerated Amisulpride is in this patient population. Healthy adults will be studied to provide a comparison.

The purpose of this study is to check if patients' exercise during their dialysis sessions can prevent their early deaths.

Every day many patients affected by chronic life-limiting illnesses are admitted into Internal Medicine wards, coming from the Emergency Department. Many studies suggest that providing palliative care to these patients may improve their end-of-life care while reducing costs by minimizing futile treatments and unwanted intensive care unit admissions. Consequently, there is a strong need for acute care hospitals to more vigorously identify patients entering the final phase of their lives as well as their specific care needs. In a previous study the investigators screened for need of palliative care patients affected by progressive chronic diseases by means of a tool, based on the Italian Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation, and Intensive Care - SIAARTI - position paper reporting criteria for patients with end-stage chronic organ failures, and on the specific clinical indicators elaborated by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) for patients with locally advanced/metastatic cancer. In a further pilot study, the investigators compared the outcomes of PC patients depending on whether the palliative care team evaluated such patients only if requested by the physician staff or routinely, irrespectively of a specific request, finding a significant increase of discharges after the activation of an appropriate PC service or scheduled PC ambulatory visit. In the present study the investigators enroll chronically ill patients admitted to an Internal Medicine Unit from the Emergency Department, to be screened for palliative care need, using the previously cited SIAARTI/NCCN screening tool (Extended Screening Tool - EST), or using a Simplified Screening Tool (SST), derived from the first instrument, which preliminary showed a superimposable efficacy. This latter tool has advantages related to much more shortness and therefore simplicity in the administration to a seriously ill patient and is much less time consuming, allowing the physician to use it routinely. The aim of the study is to verify the accuracy of the SST in identifying chronically ill patients in need of a PC approach, in comparison to the SIAARTI/NCCN tool (EST). If the SST would show good accuracy, an easily manageable tool for the assessment of PC needs in chronically ill patients would be available for the daily routine.

The Microbiome trial is a non-randomized, open-label, sequential, multi-center study of p-inulin for patients with hemodialysis-dependent end-stage renal disease.

The main purpose of this research program is to reduce the burden of end-stage organ disease on individuals, families, healthcare systems, and society by increasing the availability of donor organs for transplantation. Consistent with this aim, the project further examines strategies to increase access to and reduce disparities - racial, economic, gender - in live donor kidney transplantation (LDKT). Specifically, we expand the research and intensity of an innovative House Calls intervention developed by the principal investigator by including other minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged patients and by adding a novel Patient-Centered Decision Support component. The main study hypothesis is that participants receiving the novel intervention (House Calls + Patient-Centered Decision Support) will have a higher proportion of LDKT's by the 2-year study endpoint.

The purpose of this study to conduct a pilot, randomized trial in stable HD patients to evaluate the effect of gradual, step-wise reduction of post-hemodialysis target weight, combined with diligent dietary sodium restriction and reduction in dialysate sodium exposure on hydration/volume status and blood pressure (BP) control.

Depression is common in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and has a negative effect on the quality of life, functional ability, and mortality, with a prevalence rate as high as 20-25%. However, it is hard to use anti-depressant due to the safety issue, and there has been little data so far particularly in terms of randomized clinical trials. Here, we investigate the effect of cognitive-behavioral group therapy for enhancing mental health and quality of life in patients with ESRD.

The purpose of this study is to assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of Ceftaroline in a group of patients with renal disease and matching healthy subjects with normal renal function