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C Kjellstrand

Publications and source records attributed to C Kjellstrand.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Choice of treatment improves quality of life. A study on patients undergoing dialysis.

BACKGROUND: Quality of life (QOL) is an important measure of the success of medicine. Choice of treatment is an important variable influencing QOL. We studied QOL in patients undergoing treatment for end-stage renal failure. Until June 1993 our patients needing dialysis could freely choose continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD); however, since that time most patients have been forced to undergo CAPD because the hemodialysis program is full. METHODS: We compared QOL in patients accepted before or after June 1993. Forty-five patients undergoing CAPD were studied during the period of choice compared with 44 who had no choice. Quality of life was studied by Bradburn Affect Scale, Mental Health Scale, Campbell Life Satisfaction, Perceived Health, Karnofsky Scale, Activity Scale, Physical Symptoms Scale, and desire for treatment change. RESULTS: The patients undergoing CAPD in the no-choice group had a lower score than the choice population in 4 of the 7 QOL scales. The Mental Health Scale mean score was 18.4 compared with 15.5, and the patients ranking highest on the Mental Health Scale decreased from 33% to 18%, while those ranking lowest increased 7-fold from 2% to 14% comparing choice with no-choice group. The Bradburn Affect Scale score was +0.7 in the choice group compared with -0.3 in the no-choice group. There were no differences in age, sex, race, or treatment that explained the difference. Influence of other time-related factors is unlikely as there were no similar lower scores with time in the QOL reported by patients in the in-center or assisted self-care hemodialysis or transplant groups. CONCLUSIONS: Once the freedom of choice of treatment is gone from the patients undergoing CAPD their psychological QOL deteriorates.

Adult

Emergency treatment of lithium-induced diabetes insipidus with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Thiazides and amiloride are the most often suggested treatment for nephrogenic diabetic insipidus. We found this ineffectual in a patient with acute problems and reviewed the literature to see if there were other more efficient approaches. A 47-year-old woman on lithium had polyuria. When inadvertently fasted for 48 h she became confused, had a seizure, and her sodium was 170 mmol/L. Urinary output was 24 L/day. Large volumes of intravenous fluids were given but sodium remained > 170 mmol/L. Treatment with DDAVP, thiazides, and amiloride did not decrease urinary output. Indomethacin 150 mg was started and urine volume immediately fell to one-half. However, because of persistent high urine output the patient was then fluid depleted, with further reduction to normal in urine volume, and Na decreased to 140 mmol/L. Creatinine rose from 135 mumol/L to 173 mumol/L, but decreased to 152 mumol/L when indomethacin was decreased to 75 mg q.d.; urinary output remained stable around 2 L/day. The literature described 22 patients with nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (16 congenital, 6 lithium) treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Urine flow was reduced to 1/3, within hours. Rarely, mild renal failure ensued, improving in all but one case when nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were reduced. Indomethacin (and controlled volume reduction if continued high urine output), while observing renal function, appears the emergency treatment of choice for serious complications of nephrogenic diabetes insipidus.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal

Renal replacement therapy in Canada: a report from the Canadian Organ Replacement Register.

We report here the demography and results of renal replacement therapy in Canada from 1981 to 1992. The new case rate for patients entering renal replacement therapy programs in Canada has increased dramatically over the last 12 years, from 49.9 per million to 98.4 per million of the population. The largest increases have been among the elderly, from 146.2 per million in 1981 to 381.9 per million in 1992 for those aged 65 to 74 years. There has been an even more dramatic increase for those over 75 years, from 83.6 per million in 1981 to 261.6 per million in 1992. There has been a similar increase in the prevalence rate, with an increase from 229.1 per million in 1981 to 518.5 per million in 1992. The hemodialysis rate for 1992 was 172.2 per million and that for peritoneal dialysis was 103.1 per million of the population. The renal transplantation rate also increased from 20 per million in 1981 to 34.8 per million in 1988, but unfortunately has decreased to 27.5 per million in 1992. Diabetes is now the most common primary renal diagnosis, having increased from 15% in 1981 to 24% in 1992. The 5-year survival rate of all patients on renal replacement therapy was 55%. For nondiabetic patients, the 5-year survival rate ranged from 85% for the those aged 15 to 44 years to 20% for those over 65 years. Among diabetic patients, the 5-year survival rate declined from 58% for the 15 to 44 year age group to 10% for those over 65 years.

Adolescent

Cytodiagnostic urinalysis is very useful in the differential diagnosis of acute renal failure and can predict the severity.

Cytodiagnostic urinalysis was tested to determine its utility in the differential diagnosis of acute renal failure (ARF). Fifty-one patients with acute renal failure were included and evaluated clinically with regard to the etiology of the renal failure, whether underlying chronic renal failure was present, and if dialysis was required. Urine specimens were macroscopically examined and subjected to a multiparameter reagent-strip analysis. Papanicolaou stain was done on cytocentrifuge preparations and the number of blood cells, renal cells, and casts examined in a standardized fashion. The results showed that the 34 patients with acute tubular necrosis (ATN) of either ischemic or toxic origin had a higher number of collecting duct cells, and a higher total number of casts than the 17 non-ATN patients. Twelve patients requiring dialysis had a higher number of different types of casts (granular, waxy, leukocytic, broad casts) as well as more renal cells (mainly necrotic) than the 39 patients who did not require dialysis. A significant positive correlation was found between the magnitude of rise of serum creatinine and a number of cytodiagnostic parameters. We conclude that cytodiagnostic urinalysis may be valuable in addition to other tests in the evaluation of patients with acute renal failure.

Acute Kidney Injury

The anemia of acute renal failure: association with oliguria and elevated blood urea.

Anemia is very frequent in patients with acute failure but the nature of the relationship between the two conditions has remained unclear. We studied all patients with well-documented acute renal failure seen in consultation by our nephrology division during 1991. Fifty-three of the 56 patients had at least mild anemia (hematocrit < 35%) at some point during their hospital stay. Forty-three of the patients had a hematocrit below 30% and 14 had a hematocrit below this level on admission. Twenty-four of the patients underwent major operations and all of these patients required blood transfusions. In this group there was a significant correlation between maximum serum urea and lowest hemoglobin (r = 0.4, p < .05) but no similar correlation between maximum creatinine and lowest hemoglobin. Oliguric patients had a mean lowest hemoglobin of 7.3 +/- 0.4 g/dL, which was significantly lower than the value for nonoliguric patients, 9.0 +/- 0.4 g/dL. This study confirms the presence of anemia in 91% of patients with acute renal failure and shows it to be related to rise in urea and presence of oliguria. Clearly, however, the anemia is multifactorial, since in one-quarter of the patients it precedes onset of renal failure.

Acute Kidney Injury

The influence of dialyzer geometry on blood coagulation and biocompatibility.

The influence of dialyzer geometry on blood coagulation, heparin requirement and complement activation was studied in fourteen chronic hemodialysis patients. Each patient was dialyzed with two different cuprophan dialyzers, hollow fiber GF 120M and parallel plate Lundia IC5N. Both dialyzers had a wall thickness of 11 microns, surface area of 1.2 m2 and both were sterilized with ethylene oxide. Heparin doses were individually titrated. The mean heparin dose was 6089 +/- 988 U. Platelet count decreased from 218 x 10(9)/l to 193 x 10(9)/l and from 235 x 10(9)/l to 197 x 10(9)/l respectively (hollow fiber/plate dialyzer, ns). The number of leucocytes decreased at 15 min after start of dialysis by 56% and 61% (hollow fiber/plate dialyzer, ns). The heparin requirement, measured as prolongation of whole blood activated coagulation time after identical doses of heparin, were the same in hollow fiber and plate dialysis sessions. The arterial fibrinopeptide A concentrations increased during dialysis from 5.4 to 7.1 nmol/l and 8.5 to 9.6 nmol/l respectively (hollow fiber/plate dialyzer, ns). The residual blood volume in the hollow fiber dialyzers was 1.3 +/- 1.1 ml and in the plate dialyzers 1.5 +/- 0.9 ml (ns). C3a activation, indicated by a marked arterio-venous difference, was observed at 15 min after start of dialysis with hollow fiber as well as plate dialyzers. The arterio-venous difference was less pronounced at the end of dialysis. There were no differences in C3a activation between hollow fiber and plate dialyzers at any timepoint. It is concluded that dialyzer geometry does not significantly influence platelet count, blood coagulation, heparin requirement or complement activation.

Aged

Analysis of cytodiagnostic urinalysis findings in 77 patients with concurrent renal biopsies.

We investigated the value of cytodiagnostic urinalysis in detecting and scoring the severity of the four types of renal lesions (glomerular, interstitial, tubular, and vascular). Both cytodiagnostic urinalysis and concurrent renal biopsy were performed in 77 patients (47 from native kidneys and 30 from transplants) and the scoring and findings assessed in a double-blinded fashion. Evaluation of the reproducibility for the counting of renal cells showed a low intraobserver and interobserver variation. Cytodiagnostic urinalysis correlated with the renal biopsy with respect to primary lesions in 42 (89%) of the native kidney cases, and in 23 (77%) of the transplant kidney cases. The accuracy of diagnosis of glomerular lesions in both native and transplanted kidneys was 0.91, and for acute rejection in transplanted kidneys, the accuracy of diagnosis was 0.73. Severity scores showed good correlation between cytodiagnostic urinalysis and renal biopsy in both transplanted and in native kidneys and cytodiagnostic urinalysis correlated well with the increase in creatinine levels. The most important components of cytodiagnostic urinalysis for the diagnosis of glomerular lesions were dysmorphic erythrocytes and proteinuria. The specificity and sensitivity of dysmorphic erythrocytes for a glomerular lesion were 0.89 and 0.88, respectively. In cases with biopsy-proven glomerular lesions, more severe changes were found by cytodiagnostic urinalysis when the biopsy showed proliferative lesions in the glomeruli than when normal glomeruli were found by light microscopy. Cytodiagnostic urinalysis has the advantage over renal biopsy that it can be repeated as often as necessary and thus allows observation of the development or regression of the renal lesion over time. We conclude that cytodiagnostic urinalysis is well correlated with the renal biopsy and that it provides valuable and quantitative information regarding the disease process in the kidney.

Adult

Iatrogenic renal disease.

We studied iatrogenic problems in nephrology by classifying all patients for nephrology consultation into nine presenting syndromes and seven etiologic groups. One hundred (2.2%) of all admissions were seen in nephrology consultation. Acute renal failure was the most common presenting syndrome, accounting for 59% of the consultations. Forty-one of the 100 consultations (1% of all admissions) had a renewal syndrome of iatrogenic origin. Of these 41 patients, 38 had acute renal failure and three had fluid and electrolyte problems. Twenty of the 41 patients had drug-induced problems. Eighteen of these patients were dehydrated, and in three patients, acute renal failure occurred after surgery. Of the 20 patients with iatrogenic renal problems caused by drugs, seven problems were antibiotic related, five were due to diuretics, four were due to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, three were due to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and one was from the use of contrast medium. The 41 patients with iatrogenic-related renal disease were older than the other 59 patients (61.8 vs 49.3 years). Iatrogenic renal disease developed in 1% of all patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital, and 12% of these patients died. The most common renal syndrome is acute renal failure, most often caused by nephrotoxic drugs. The incidence can probably be decreased by better monitoring of body weight and fluid balance to prevent dehydration and by the avoidance of nephrotoxic drugs.

Acute Kidney Injury

Changing risk factor demographics in end-stage renal disease patients entering hemodialysis and the impact on long-term mortality.

Patient survival on hemodialysis has previously been shown to be associated with the presence of comorbid conditions on entrance. Significant comorbid conditions are atherosclerotic heart disease (ASHD), cerebral vascular disease (CVD), nonskin malignancies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus, and age on entrance to dialysis. Changes in annual mortality have been noted in the United States and at the Regional Kidney Disease Program. The increase in annual mortality was analyzed to determine the impact of risk factors during the time intervals 1976 to 1982 and 1983 to 1987. Patients with no major risk factors have longer survival rates and lower deaths per 1,000 treatment-months from 1983 to 1987 compared with 1976 to 1982. Diabetics have survival rates and deaths per 1,000 treatment-months that are comparable up to age 75. However, over age 75, diabetics have lower survival rates and higher death rates. The presence of comorbid conditions in the diabetic group is high and may account for the increased death rate. The percent of diabetics entering the program has increased from 29% to 48% over the intervals. Nondiabetics with comorbid conditions on entrance had higher deaths per 1,000 treatment-months from 1983 to 1987 compared with 1976 to 1982 across all age categories. Risk factor analysis shows that nondiabetics with major risks are entering with increasing numbers and continuation of comorbid conditions that impact death rates. Peripheral vascular disease, originally not significantly associated with death on dialysis, has dramatically increased from 18% to 60% in nondiabetics with comorbid conditions. In the patients over age 60 with comorbid conditions, 75% of patients now entering dialysis have peripheral vascular disease (PVD). In summary, major shifts in the hemodialysis population have occurred. Diabetics entering dialysis now account for almost 50% of all patients, with the older group having more comorbid conditions. This change alone would increase the annual mortality rate. Patients with comorbid conditions now enter with a higher prevalence of multiple comorbid conditions, which would increase the annual mortality rate. Nondiabetics without comorbid conditions now have better survival across all age categories compared with the previous data. PVD, with its current high prevalence, needs to be reevaluated as a significant risk factor for death on hemodialysis. Therefore, the increase in the annual gross mortality rate is highly predicted based on the change in the diabetic population and the increase in single and multiple comorbid conditions in the nondiabetic population.

Adolescent

Vitamin C intoxication and hyperoxalemia in chronic hemodialysis patients.

We studied vitamin C levels in 25 stable patients on chronic hemodialysis who were taking 0.5-1 g vitamin C orally daily and/or dialyzed against dialysate containing 33.3 micrograms/ml of vitamin C. We also studied the relationship between serum vitamin C and oxalate levels in 7 patients on chronic hemodialysis. All patients had markedly elevated pre- and postdialysis levels of vitamin C. The predialysis levels of vitamin C showed extremely good correlation to the serum oxalate levels. Overingestion of vitamin C in food or as supplementation may lead to excessive serum levels of vitamin C, resulting in hyperoxalemia that may contribute to vascular disease in patients on chronic hemodialysis.

Adolescent

Peracetic acid for reuse of hemodialyzers clinical studies.

When Renalin was used for reprocessing, the incidences of headache and hypotension were reduced and no changes in serum chemistries were noted. Dialyzer appearance was superior to that achieved with formaldehyde but accompanied by decreases in clearance of urea, creatinine, vitamin B-12 and a fall in KUF. While long-term patient toxicity studies are not yet available, laboratory studies suggest potential problems with carcinogenicity similar to those erroneously attributed to formaldehyde. These data suggest that Renalin may be a suitable alternative to formaldehyde for reprocessing hemodialyzers.

Acetates

Kidney transplantation: the use of abnormal kidneys.

We transplanted 6 anatomically abnormal kidneys: a horseshoe kidney that after division was transplanted into 2 recipients; 1 kidney with ureteral stones and hydronephrosis; 1 ectopic and 1 hydronephrotic kidney; 2 kidneys with extensive ureteric lesions, donated as free organs. All these kidneys ultimately had normal function in the recipients, long-term in 4.2 patients died but in neither was the death caused by the renal abnormality.

Adult