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Background and Objectives : hypochloremia is an emerging risk factor for mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease. The pathophysiological mechanisms of this finding are not very clear. Some studies suggest the influence of inflammation as a synergistic factor, so we set out to analyse the association of a novel C-reactive protein-to-serum chloride ratio (CRP/Cl - ) with the prognosis of maintenance haemodialysis patients and to assess its relationship with fluid status and body composition measured by bioimpedance. Materials and Methods : the present work is a retrospective cohort study of maintenance haemodialysis patients from our chronic outpatient haemodialysis programme between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2022. ( n = 281). Survival time was collected for all patients and analysed using the Kaplan-Meier method. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to evaluate survival probabilities. Variables included in the model were selected using a stepwise selection procedure based on the corrected Akaike information criterion (AICc), which balances model fit and complexity. Results : during a median follow-up of 306 days, 34 patients died. Patients in the fourth quartile of the CRP/Cl - (>0.118 mg/mEq) had higher overall mortality (log-rank test, p = 0.0011). In the Cox multivariate analysis, the variables significantly associated with higher mortality were higher modified Charlson index (MCI), lower body surface area (BSA), lower interdialytic weight gain (IDWG), and higher CRP/Cl - ratio. The latter variable was independently associated with higher overall mortality (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.027; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.000-1.055 p = 0.0469). Conclusions : Higher CRP/Cl - ratio values were associated with higher all-cause mortality in our maintenance haemodialysis patients.

Background: Hypochloremia has been associated with increased mortality in patients with hypertension, heart failure, sepsis, and chronic kidney disease (CKD). The pathophysiological mechanisms of this finding are not clear. There are no studies describing an association between serum chloride levels (Cl - ) and mortality in incident chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients., Method: Retrospective cohort study of the incident population in our chronic outpatient hemodialysis program between January 1, 2016, and January 1, 2021 (N=374). Survival time was collected in all patients and analyzed using the Kaplan-Meyer method. A multivariate Cox regression model was performed to predict the probability of survival, applying a stepwise procedure., Results: During the median follow-up period of 20 months, 83 patients died. The 5-year overall survival rate for our patients was 45%. Both natremia and chloremia had no significant differences when compared by sex, vascular access, or etiology. There was an inverse correlation between Cl - and interdialytic weight gain (r=-0.15) (p=0.0038). Patients belonging to the quartile with lower Cl - levels had less probability of survival than patients in the quartile with higher Cl - levels (27% and 68%, respectively, p=0.019). On the other hand, in the multivariate Cox regression model, variables significantly associated with higher mortality were being older, having higher baseline comorbidity by modified Charlson index, not taking diuretics and having lower albumin and chloride levels. Particularly, higher Cl - levels was independently associated with both lower all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]=0.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.77-0.92; p=0.0001) and cardiovascular mortality (HR 0.9; 95% CI, 0.83-0.97; p<0.0057)., Conclusions: Lower Cl - levels were associated with higher all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in incident patients on chronic hemodialysis in our health area., (Copyright © 2023 Sociedad Española de Nefrología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in expanded hemodialysis (HDx), an emerging renal replacement therapy based on the use of medium cut-off membranes (MCO). Thanks to the internal architecture of these types of membranes, with a higher pore size and smaller fiber inner diameter to favor internal filtration rate, they can increase the removal of larger middle molecules in conventional hemodialysis. Secondarily, several reports suggest that this therapy potentially improve the outcomes for end-stage renal disease patients. However, HDx has not been defined yet and the characteristics of MCO membranes are not well stablished. The aim of this narrative review is to define HDx and summarize the dialyzers that have been used so far to perform this therapy, collect the evidence available on its efficacy and clinical outcomes compared with other hemodialysis techniques and settle the bases for its optimal prescription., Competing Interests: The authors declare no financial support for this review. A.G.-P. has received consultancy fees from Baxter and lecture fees from Baxter, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Vifor and Kyowa Kirin. J.R., J.C.F., F.V., E.I. and E.C. have received consultancy fees from Baxter., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the ERA.)

Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection is frequently associated with hyponatremia (plasma sodium <135 mmol/L), being associated with a worse prognosis. The incidence of hyponatremia is estimated to be 20-37% according to the series, but there are no data on the prognosis after correction of hyponatremia. Therefore, our objectives were: to analyse the incidence and severity of hyponatremia at hospital admission, and to determine the association of this hyponatremia with the prognosis of COVID-19., Methods: Observational and retrospective cohort study. Patients who were admitted with a diagnosis of COVID-19 infection and hyponatremia, in the period March-May 2020, were included. We recorded epidemiological, demographic, clinical, biochemical, and radiological variables of SARS-CoV-2 infection and hyponatremia at the time of diagnosis and during hospitalization. The clinical follow-up ranged from admission to death or discharge., Results: 91 patients (21.8%) of the 414 admitted for SARS-CoV-2 infection presented hyponatremia (81.32% mild hyponatremia, 9.89% moderate and 8.79% severe). The absence of correction of hyponatremia 72-96 h after hospital admission was associated with higher mortality in patients with COVID-19 (Odds Ratio 0.165; 95% confidence interval: 0.018-0.686; p  = 0.011). 19 patients (20.9%) died. An increase in mortality was observed in patients with severe hyponatremia compared with moderate and mild hyponatremia during hospital admission (37.5% versus 11.1% versus 8.1%, p  = 0.041)., Conclusion: We conclude that persistence of hyponatremia at 72-96 h of hospital admission was associated with higher mortality in patients with SARS-Cov-2., (© 2021 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 infection is frequently associated with hyponatremia (plasma sodium<135mmol/L), being associated with a worse prognosis. The incidence of hyponatremia is estimated to be 20-37% according to the series, but there are no data on the prognosis after correction of hyponatremia. Therefore, our objectives were: to analyze the incidence and severity of hyponatremia at hospital admission, and to determine the association of this hyponatremia with the prognosis of COVID-19., Material and Method: Observational and retrospective cohort study. Patients who were admitted with a diagnosis of COVID-19 infection and hyponatremia, in the period March-May 2020, were included. We recorded epidemiological, demographic, clinical, biochemical, and radiological variables of SARS-CoV-2 infection and hyponatremia at the time of diagnosis and during hospitalization. The clinical follow-up ranged from admission to death or discharge., Results: 91 patients (21.8%) of the 414 admitted for SARS-CoV-2 infection presented hyponatremia (81.32% mild hyponatremia, 9.89% moderate and 8.79% severe). The absence of correction of hyponatremia 72-96h after hospital admission was associated with higher mortality in patients with COVID-19 (Odds Ratio .165; 95% confidence interval: .018-.686; P=.011). 19 patients (20.9%) died. An increase in mortality was observed in patients with severe hyponatremia compared with moderate and mild hyponatremia during hospital admission (37.5% versus 11.1% versus 8.1%, P=.041)., Conclusions: We conclude that persistence of hyponatremia at 72-96h of hospital admission was associated with higher mortality in patients with SARS-CoV-2., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Chronic inflammation and the underlying cardiovascular comorbidity are still current problems in chronic hemodialysis patients. There are few studies comparing the "dialysis dose" with the degree of inflammation in the patient. Our main objective was to determine whether there is a relationship between serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and the "dialysis dose" (Kt / V) using ionic dialysance., Methods: Multicenter cross-sectional study. 536 prevalent chronic hemodialysis patients were included. CRP levels, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were collected. Kt was obtained by ionic dialysance and urea distribution volume was calculated from the Watson's formula. The sample was divided into two groups, taking the median CRP as the cut-off point. Dialysis adequacy obtained in each group was compared. Finally, a logistic regression model was carried out to determine the variables with the greatest influence., Results: Median CRP was 4.10 mg/L (q25-q75: 1.67-10) and mean Kt/V was 1.48 ± 0.308. Kt/V was lower in the patients included in the high inflammation group (p = 0.01). In the multivariate logistic regression, the "high" levels of CRP were directly correlated with the Log INL (p < 0.001) and inversely proportional with serum albumin values (p = 0.014), Kt/V (p = 0.037) and serum iron (p < 0.001)., Conclusion: The poorer adequacy in terms of dialysis doses, lower Kt / V values, may contribute to a higher degree of inflammation in chronic hemodialysis patients., (Copyright © 2021 Sociedad Española de Nefrología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Chronic inflammation and the underlying cardiovascular comorbidity are still current problems in chronic hemodialysis patients. There are few studies comparing the "dialysis dose" (Kt/V) with the degree of inflammation in the patient. Our main objective was to determine whether there is a relationship between serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and the Kt/V using ionic dialysance., Methods: Multicenter cross-sectional study. A total of 536 prevalent chronic hemodialysis patients were included. CRP levels, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-lymphocyte ratio were collected. Kt was obtained by ionic dialysance and urea distribution volume was calculated from the Watson's formula. The sample was divided into 2 groups, taking the median CRP as the cut-off point. Dialysis adequacy obtained in each group was compared. Finally, a logistic regression model was carried out to determine the variables with the greatest influence., Results: Median CRP was 4.10mg/L (q25-q75: 1.67-10) and mean Kt/V was 1.48±0.308. Kt/V was lower in the patients included in the high inflammation group (P=.01). In the multivariate logistic regression, the "high" levels of CRP were directly correlated with the Log neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (P<.001) and inversely proportional with serum albumin values (P=.014), Kt/V (P=.037) and serum iron (P<.001)., Conclusion: The poorer adequacy in terms of dialysis doses (lower Kt/V values) may contribute to a higher degree of inflammation in chronic hemodialysis patients., (Copyright © 2021 Sociedad Española de Nefrología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The platelet-to-lymphocyte (PLR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NLR) ratios are emerging markers of inflammation. Erythropoietin resistance is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease and is influenced by inflammation, among other factors. Therefore, it would be reasonable to expect a relationship between these markers and erythropoietin resistance., Methods: Multicentre cross-sectional study. The records of the haemodialysis sessions of 534 patients belonging to four of our dialysis centres were studied. 137 patients were excluded, so the final number of patients studied was 397. NLR, PLR and the erythropoietin resistance index (ERI) were calculated., Results: The ERI was divided into quartiles and compared with the mean NLR and PLR of the four groups, with these differences being statistically significant (p=0.00058). In the regression analysis, the NLR value was able to predict ERI significantly (p<0.0001) (R 2 =0.029). The PLR value also predicted ERI significantly (p<0.0001) (R 2 =0.103). The ability of PLR to predict erythropoietin resistance was measured with the area under the ROC curve (AUC=0.681) (95% CI, 0.541-0.821). A PLR cut-off point of 125.5 would result in a sensitivity of 80.95% and 42.82% specificity., Conclusions: Both PLR and NLR could be considered acceptable markers of erythropoietin resistance. The PLR was a better predictor for the ERI than the NLR., (Copyright © 2019 Sociedad Española de Nefrología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To study whether the score proposed by the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism to define the protein energy wasting (PEW) syndrome has diagnostic validity in patients undergoing dialysis., Design and Methods: Cross-sectional study including 468 prevalent hemodialysis patients from Canary Islands, Spain. Individual PEW syndrome criteria and the number of PEW syndrome categories were related to other objective markers of PEW using linear and logistic regression analyses: subjective global assessment, handgrip strength, bioimpedance-assessed body composition, and levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein., Results: Study participants (34% women) had a median age of 66 years, 37 months of maintenance dialysis, and 50% were diabetics. About 23% of patients had PEW (≥3 PEW categories), and 68% were at risk of PEW (1-2 PEW categories). Low prealbumin was the most frequently found derangement (52% of cases), followed by low albumin (46%), and low protein intake (35%). Across higher number of PEW syndrome categories, patients showed a longer dialysis vintage and had lower creatinine, triglycerides, and transferrin (P for trend <.001 for all). All nutritional assessments not included in the PEW definition worsened across higher number of PEW categories. In multivariable regression analyses, there was a linear inverse relationship between muscle and fat mass as well as handgrip strength with the number of PEW syndrome categories. Likewise, the proportion of subjective global assessment-defined malnutrition and serum concentration of C-reactive protein gradually increased despite adjustment for confounders (P for trend <.05 for all)., Conclusion: The PEW score reflects systemic inflammation, malnutrition and wasting among dialysis patients and may thus be used for diagnostic purposes., (Copyright © 2018 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aim: To study the association between hemoglobin, endogenous erythropoietin (EPO) levels and ferric parameters in kidney recipients not treated with EPO-stimulating agents., Materials and Methods: Transverse study of 219 kidney transplant outpatients. The median time after transplantation was 54 months (P(25-75), 23-107). We assessed blood counts, ferric parameters, EPO levels, renal function (MDRD-4), and adjuvant treatment. We performed a linear regression analysis to predict hemoglobin., Results: Median EPO values were 14.05 mUI/mL (P(25-75) = 10.2-19.7). Applying the formulas described by Beguin, kidney transplant recipients showed a low observed/expected ratio of erythropoietin and of transferrin. Considering anemia to be an hemoglobin of < 12 g/dL in women and < 13 g/dL in men, 24.2% of subjects were anemic (n = 53), including 2.3% with hemoglobin < 11 g/dL. Anemic patients displayed worse renal function (49.2 ± 18.5 versus 55.46 ± 16.58 mL/min/1.73 m(2) in nonanemic; P = .021). There were no differences in C-reactive protein. The patients receiving a combination of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB) showed the highest prevalence of anemia compared with other groups (42.9%, P = .027). EPO levels were significantly lower among patients treated with these drugs (P = .041), without differences in transferrin and ferritin. The percentage of anemic patients treated with mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors (mTORi) was 31% versus 22.2% among those not receiving these immunosuppressants (P = .23). Although there were no differences in hemoglobin levels, patients treated with mTORi, showed higher EPO levels (P = .005) and lower mean corpuscular volume (P < .001). Regarding the etiology of chronic kidney disease, less frequently anemic patients were those with polycystic kidney disease (8.6% versus 26.7% in the rest, P = .021). The formula obtained by multiple linear regression to calculate hemoglobin was: hemoglobin = 11829-0909 log (EPG level) - 0455 (if female) + 0.010 0.013 transferrin + 0.013 creatinine clearance (r = .424, P < .001)., Conclusions: Treatment with ACEI and/or ARBs seemed to produce a defect in the synthesis of EPO, while those treated with mTORi, a hyporesponsive state., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The discovery of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) provides a new conceptual framework that improves our understanding of the pathogenesis of post-transplant bone disease. Excess FGF23 is produced in the early post-transplant period; levels return to normal in the months following transplant. However, few manuscripts discuss FGF23 levels in stable long-term renal transplant recipients., Methods: We performed a cross-sectional observational study of 279 maintenance kidney recipients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) Stages 1-4 and stable allograft function who had received their transplant at least 12 months previously. We calculated the estimated GFR (eGFR) using the MDRD4 equation., Results: FGF23, parathyroid hormone (PTH) and phosphorus values were higher in more advanced stages, while the serum calcitriol levels and the phosphate reabsorption rate were lower. A significant inverse correlation was found between eGFR and FGF23 (r = -0.487; P < 0.001), PTH (r = -0.444; P < 0.001), serum phosphate levels (r = -0.315; P < 0.001) and fractional excretion of magnesium (r = -0.503; P < 0.001). Multivariable analysis showed that increased time on corticosteroids (P < 0.001), PTH (P < 0.001), serum phosphate (P = 0.003), decreased serum calcitriol (P = 0.049) and estimated glomerular filtration (P = 0.003) rate were associated with high FGF23 levels. In contrast with pre-transplant patients and first year post-transplant patients, higher FGF23 values were not correlated with increased phosphate excretion. An elevated phosphate reabsorption rate was associated with decreased PTH (P < 0.001) and calciuria (P = 0.028) and increased serum calcitriol (P = 0.009), plasma bicarbonate (P = 0.024) and estimated glomerular filtration (P = 0.003)., Conclusions: Serum FGF23 concentrations remain increased in long-term kidney graft recipients, even in the early stages of CKD. It remains to be seen whether measures aimed at reducing serum levels of PTH and phosphate and/or corticosteroid doses might help to lower serum FGF23 and whether this will improve kidney recipient outcomes.