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Introduction: The influence of socioeconomic and cultural barriers in the choice of renal replacement therapy (RRT) techniques in advanced chronic kidney disease (ACKD) has been scarcely explored, which can generate problems of inequity, frequently unnoticed in health care. The aim of this study is to identify the "non-medical" barriers that influence the choice of RRT in an advanced chronic kidney disease (ACKD) consultation in Spain., Material and Methods: Retrospective analysis including the total number of patients seen in the ACKD consultation in a tertiary hospital from 2009 to 2020. Inclusion in the ACKD consultation began with an eligibility test and a decision-making process, conducted by a specifically trained nurse. The variables considered for the study were: age, sex, etiology of CKD, level of dependence for basic activities of daily living (Barthel Scale) and instrumental activities of daily living (Lawton and Brody Scale), Spanish versus foreign nationality, socioeconomic level and language barrier. The socioeconomic level was extrapolated according to home and health district by primary care center to which the patients belonged., Results: A total of 673 persons were seen in the ACKD consultation during the study period, of whom 400 (59.4%) opted for hemodialysis (HD), 156 (23.1%) for peritoneal dialysis (PD), 4 (0.5%) for early living donor renal transplantation (LDRT) and 113 (16.7%) chose conservative care (CC). The choice of PD as the chosen RRT technique (vs. HD) was associated with people with a high socioeconomic level (38.7% vs. 22.5%) (p = 0.002), Spanish nationality (91% vs. 77.7%) (p < 0.001), to a lower language barrier (0.6% vs 10.5%) (p < 0.001), and to a higher score on the Barthel scale (97.4 vs 92.9) and on the Lawton and Brody scale (7 vs 6.1) (p < 0.001). Neither age nor sex showed significant differences in the choice of both techniques. Patients who opted for CC were significantly older (81.1 vs 67.7 years; p < 0.001), more dependent (p < 0.001), with a higher proportion of women (49.6% vs 35.2%; p = 0.006) and a higher proportion of Spaniards (94.7% vs 81%, p = 0.001) in relation to the choice of other techniques (PD and HD). Socioeconomic level did not influence the choice of CC., Conclusion: Despite a regulated decision-making process, there are factors such as socioeconomic status, migration, language barrier and dependency of the population that influence the type of RRT chosen. To address these aspects that may cause inequity, an intersectoral and multilevel intervention is required with interdisciplinary teams that include, among others, social workers, to provide a more holistic and person-centered assessment., (Copyright © 2023 Sociedad Española de Nefrología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

This cross-sectional study aims to explore the prevalence of protein-energy wasting (PEW) in dialysis patients in Catalonia, Spain, using a new and practical online tool which enables rapid calculation and comparison with other nutritional scores., Methods: A web tool (Nutrendial) was created to introduce different variables and automatically calculate PEW, Malnutrition inflammation Score (MIS) and Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) in 1389 patients (88% in haemodialysis (HD)), 12% in peritoneal dialysis (PD) from different regions of Catalonia., Results: A prevalence of 23.3% (26% HD, 10.2% PD) of PEW was found, with a mean MIS score of 6 and SGA score of C in 7% of the patients. ROC analysis showed MIS as the best nutritional score to diagnose PEW (AUC 0.85). Albumin delivered lower diagnostic precision (AUC 0.77) and sensitivity (66%). A cut off point of 7 (86% sensitivity and 75% specificity) for MIS and 3.7 mg/dL for albumin were found to predict the appearance of PEW in this population. SGA B or C showed an 87% sensitivity and 55% specificity to diagnose PEW. Very low nutritional intervention (14%) was recorded with this tool in patients with PEW., Conclusions: This new online tool facilitated the calculation of PEW, enabling different professionals-including nephrologists, dieticians and nurses-to efficiently obtain insights into the nutritional status of the Catalonian dialysis population and implement the required nutritional interventions. MIS is the score with more sensitivity to diagnose PEW., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Background: In COVID-19 patients, low serum vitamin D (VD) levels have been associated with severe acute respiratory failure and poor prognosis. In regular hemodialysis (HD) patients, there is VD deficiency and markedly reduced calcitriol levels, which may predispose them to worse outcomes of COVID-19 infection. Some hemodialysis patients receive treatment with drugs for secondary hyperparathyroidism, which have well known pleiotropic effects beyond mineral metabolism. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of VD status and the administration of active vitamin D medications, used to treat secondary hyperparathyroidism, on survival in a cohort of COVID-19 positive HD patients., Methods: A cross-sectional retrospective observational study was conducted from 12 March to 21 May 2020 in 288 HD patients with positive PCR for SARS-CoV2. Patients were from 52 different centers in Spain., Results: The percent of HD patients with COVID-19 was 6.1% (288 out of 4743). Mortality rate was 28.4% (81/285). Three patients were lost to follow-up. Serum 25(OH)D (calcidiol) level was 17.1 [10.6-27.5] ng/mL and was not significantly associated to mortality (OR 0.99 (0.97-1.01), p = 0.4). Patients receiving active vitamin D medications (16/94 (17%) vs. 65/191(34%), p = 0.003), including calcimimetics (4/49 (8.2%) vs. 77/236 (32.6%), p = 0.001), paricalcitol or calcimimetics (19/117 (16.2%) vs. 62/168 (36.9%); p < 0.001), and also those on both paricalcitol and calcimimetics, to treat secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPTH) (1/26 (3.8%) vs. 80/259 (30.9%), p < 0.001) showed a lower mortality rate than patients receiving no treatment with either drug. Multivariate Cox regression analysis confirmed this increased survival., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the use of paricalcitol, calcimimetics or the combination of both, seem to be associated with the improvement of survival in HD patients with COVID-19. No correlation was found between serum VD levels and prognosis or outcomes in HD patients with COVID-19. Prospective studies and clinical trials are needed to support these findings.

The COVID-19 epidemic represents a special risk for kidney patients due to their comorbidities and advanced age, and the need for hemodialysis treatment in group rooms. It also represents a risk for professionals responsible for their attention. This manuscript contains a proposal for action to prevent infection of professionals in the Nephrology Services, one of the most valuable assets at the present time., (Copyright © 2020 Sociedad Española de Nefrología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Colistin use has reemerged for the treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. However, the information on its pharmacokinetics is limited, especially in patients with end-stage renal disease, in which dosage adjustments are contradictory, and evidences the need to investigate the removal of colistin through renal replacement therapies like haemodialysis. This case study showed efficient removal of colistin methanesulphonate and formed colistin during intermittent haemodialysis in a patient infected by polymyxin-only-susceptible Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These results suggest the importance to monitor colistin plasma concentrations in these patients to minimize treatment failure due to suboptimal exposure to antibacterial colistin.

Background and Objectives: Data are needed to assess safety and efficacy of the 2009 pandemic influenza A H1N1 vaccine in renal patients., Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: We prospectively evaluated seroconversion, predictors of response, and vaccine safety in renal patients. Hemagglutination inhibition tests to detect serum antibodies against a new influenza A-H1N1 virus were performed in 79 transplant patients, 48 hemodialysis patients, and 15 healthy workers before and 1 month after vaccination. Healthy controls and 88 of 127 renal patients were vaccinated. Seroconversion was defined as at least 2 dilutions increase in titer., Results: We excluded 19 individuals seroprotected (≥1/40) against the novel H1N1 in the initial sample. Efficacy rate in the 96 vaccinated individuals was 43.7% (42 of 96 seroconverted versus four of 27 nonvaccinated patients, P = 0.007). For vaccinated subgroups, efficacy was 41.8% in transplant patients (P = 0.039 versus nonvaccinated), 33.3% in hemodialysis patients (P = 0.450), and 81.8% in controls. Healthy controls showed better response to vaccine than transplant (P = 0.021) and dialysis (P = 0.012) patients. For the transplant subgroup, longer time after transplantation (P = 0.028) was associated with seroconversion, but no influence was found for age, gender, renal function, or immunosuppression. In the hemodialysis subgroup, younger age was associated with response (55.7 ± 20.8 versus 71.6 ± 10.1 years, P = 0.042), but other specific variables, including Kt/V or time on dialysis, were not. No serious adverse events were reported, and kidney function was stable., Conclusion: The novel influenza A 2009 H1N1 vaccine was safe in renal patients, although administration of a single dose of adjuvanted vaccine induced a poor response in these patients.

Aims: We evaluated modifications in formation of heterotypic platelet-leukocyte aggregation induced by dialysis through cellulosic or synthetic membranes and evaluated the effects of such procedures promoting adhesive interactions between leukocytes and normal endothelial cells (ECs)., Methods: Samples were obtained from arterial and venous lines at baseline, after 15 and 120 min of hemodialysis. Heterotypic aggregation was assessed using flow-cytometric techniques. Experiments to determine leukocyte adhesion to ECs were performed in parallel plate perfusion chambers at 450 s(-1)., Results: Patients dialyzed with a cellulosic membrane showed a significantly higher baseline granulocyte heterotypic aggregation (median 22.5%, range 8.6-32%) versus healthy subjects (median 10%, range 3.2-14.6%; p < 0.05). Granulocyte heterotypic aggregation values remained increased throughout the hemodialysis session not only in the arterial line (median 18 and 24.5%, range 7-30 and 8.7-36% at 15 and 2 h, respectively) but also in the venous line (median 20 and 25%, range 8.6-32 and 11.5-35% at 15 min and 2 h, respectively). Basal lymphocytes heterotypic aggregation values observed in uremic patients were 6% (0.1-7.1%) versus 1.0% (0.5-2.8%) in the control group (p < 0.05). The increase remained during the hemodialysis session both in the arterial line (median 5 and 4%, range 0.2-14 and 0.5-7.1 % at 15 min and 2 h, respectively) and in the venous line (median 7 and 7%, range 1.4-14 and 0.5-10.6% at 15 min and 2 h). In contrast, patients dialyzed with a synthetic membrane showed a decreased basal granulocyte heterotypic aggregation compared to healthy subjects (median 3.5 vs. 10%, range 2.8-7 vs. 3.2-14.6%, respectively; p < 0.05). For lymphocytes, basal heterotypic aggregation values were 0.2% (range 0.1-0.5%) in dialyzed patients vs. 0.98% (range 0.5-2.8%) in healthy subjects (p < 0.05), without changes throughout the dialysis session. Changes in leukocyte adhesion during hemodialysis did not reach statistical significance with either hemodialysis membrane. Our studies confirm a differential activation of platelets and leukocytes depending on the nature of the dialysis membranes. However, activation of circulating cellular elements by hemodialysis procedures did not enhance cross-talk interactions between leukocytes and unaltered ECs., (Copyright 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.)