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According to data from the last census of the Brazilian Society of Nephrology (SBN), the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Brazilian hemodialysis units (HU) is 3.3%, about three times higher than what is reported for the Brazilian general population. Often, professionals working in HU are faced with clinical situations that require rapid HCV diagnosis in order to avoid horizontal transmission within the units. On the other hand, thanks to the development of new antiviral drugs, the cure of patients with HCV, both in the general population and in patients with chronic kidney disease and the disease eradication, appear to be very feasible objectives to be achieved in the near future . In this scenario, SBN and the Brazilian Society of Hepatology present in this review article a proposal to approach HCV within HUs.

Objective: Acute kidney injury (AKI) has an incidence rate of 5-6% among intensive care unit (ICU) patients and sepsis is the most frequent etiology., Aims: To assess patients in the ICU that developed AKI, AKI on chronic kidney disease (CKD), and/or sepsis, and identify the risk factors and outcomes of these diseases., Methods: A prospective observational cohort quantitative study that included patients who stayed in the ICU > 48 hours and had not been on dialysis previously was carried out., Results: 302 patients were included and divided into: no sepsis and no AKI (nsnAKI), sepsis alone (S), septic AKI (sAKI), non-septic AKI (nsAKI), septic AKI on CKD (sAKI/CKD), and non-septic AKI on CKD (nsAKI/CKD). It was observed that 94% of the patients developed some degree of AKI. Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) stage 3 was predominant in the septic groups (p = 0.018). Nephrologist follow-up in the non-septic patients was only 23% vs. 54% in the septic groups (p < 0.001). Dialysis was performed in 8% of the non-septic and 37% of the septic groups (p < 0.001). Mechanical ventilation (MV) requirement was higher in the septic groups (p < 0.001). Mortality was 38 and 39% in the sAKI and sAKI/CKD groups vs 16% and 0% in the nsAKI and nsAKI/CKD groups, respectively (p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Patients with sAKI and sAKI/CKD had worse prognosis than those with nsAKI and nsAKI/CKD. The nephrologist was not contacted in a large number of AKI cases, except for KDIGO stage 3, which directly influenced mortality rates. The urine output was considerably impaired, ICU stay was longer, use of MV and mortality were higher when kidney injury was combined with sepsis.

The doctor-patient relationship is often discussed from the perspective of patient vulnerability. Little attention is given to the vulnerability of nephrologists in their professional practice, a reality often affected by profound cultural transformation arising from technological development. Nephrology is based on research and procedure instrumentalization, both permeated with technology. In addition, the relationship between nephrologists and institutions is governed by market rules. Recent data showed a shortage of new nephrologists and the need to improve the technical training of new professionals, foster the establishment of interventional nephrology, and attract more graduating physicians to this medical specialty. Bioethics offers a different perspective on the issue, since it takes the subjective concerns of medical doctors and the social environments they participate in into consideration in order to enhance their ethical autonomy. These ideas may be discussed as part of undergraduate or specialization programs, thus reinforcing the acknowledgement of vulnerability as a condition and of the relevance of adopting a reflective attitude toward the events of everyday life that interact with the morality of nephrologists, so that risks are adequately faced having bioethical parameters as a reference.

Introduction: National chronic dialysis data have had impact in the treatment planning., Objective: To report data of the annual survey of the Brazilian Society of Nephrology about chronic kidney disease patients on dialysis in July 2014., Methods: A survey based on data of dialysis units from the whole country. The data collection was performed by using a questionnaire filled out on-line by the dialysis units., Results: Three hundred twelve (44%) of the dialysis units in the country answered the questionnaire. In July 2014, the total estimated number of patients on dialysis was 112,004. The estimated prevalence and incidence rates of chronic maintenance dialysis were 552 (range: 364 in the North region and 672 in the Southeast) and 180 patients per million population (pmp), respectively. The annual incidence rate of patients with diabetic nephropathy was 77 pmp. The annual gross mortality rate was 19%. For prevalent patients, 91% were on hemodialysis and 9% on peritoneal dialysis, 32,499 (29%) were on a waiting list of renal transplant, 37% were overweight/obese, 29% were diabetics, 16% had PTH levels > 600 pg/ml and 26% hemoglobin < 10 g/dl. A venous catheter was the vascular access for 17% of the hemodialysis patients., Conclusion: During 2011-2014 the prevalence and incidence rates of patients on dialysis tended to increase, while the gross mortality rate remained stable. In 2014, diabetes was the primary renal disease in 42% of the new dialysis patients.