Search

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of 4 months of exercise training (ET) on cardiorespiratory function and endurance, blood pressure, muscle strength, hematology, blood lipids, and renal function in individuals with chronic renal failure (CRF) who were not yet on dialysis. Sixteen subjects were recruited to volunteer for participation in this study, but only eight completed all study phases. Subjects were first evaluated before and after a 2-month baseline (BL1 and BL2), after 4 months of ET, and again after 2 months of detraining (DT). ET did not change hematology, blood lipids, or echocardiographic measurements of left ventricular function and mass. Resting systolic and diastolic blood pressures decreased significantly from BL after the ET (146 +/- 15.7/87 +/- 9 mm Hg to 124 +/- 17.5/78 +/- 9.5 mm Hg; P < 0.02), and then increased significantly after DT (139 +/- 14.7 mm Hg and 87 +/- 9.9 mm Hg; P < 0.01). Peak oxygen consumption (pVO2) changed significantly during the study (1.3 +/- 0.3 L/min, 1.5 +/- 0.3 L/min, and 1.4 +/- 0.3 L/min for BL2, ET, and DT, respectively; P < 0.02), as did the VO2 at the ventilatory threshold (0.65 +/- 0.18 L/min, 0.92 +/- 0.19 L/min, and 0.68 +/- 0.23 L/min for BL2, ET, and DT, respectively; P < 0.01). Knee flexion peak torque increased after ET (43.4 +/- 25.6 Nm to 51.0 +/- 30.5 Nm; P < 0.02). GFR, as measured by creatinine clearance, continued to deteriorate during the course of the study (25.3 +/- 12.0 mL/min, 21.8 +/- 13.2 mL/min, and 21.8 +/- 13.2 mL/min for BL2, ET, and DT, respectively; P < 0.001). Individuals with predialysis CRF who undergo ET improve in functional aerobic capacity, muscular strength, and blood pressure.

When serum glucose concentration is nearly normal, serum sodium concentration and tonicity are usually normal in ambulatory outpatient diabetics on chronic hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. In hyperglycemia, patients on hemodialysis do not undergo osmotic diuresis and are able to nearly normalize their serum tonicity by increasing the intake of water. Patients on peritoneal dialysis differ from hemodialysis patients because of continued loss of water in the peritoneal dialysate and achieve only partial correction of tonicity by water consumption. The model currently used to predict changes in serum sodium concentration and in tonicity from hyperglycemia assumes no changes in external balance of body water or solute during development of hyperglycemia and, therefore, is not applicable in ambulatory dialysis patients with intact thirst mechanism, because of water retention. In ambulatory patients on chronic dialysis, clinical manifestations of hyperglycemia include thirst, water intake, and weight gain. Neurologic manifestations due to hypertonicity are usually absent.

The abnormal cutaneous flora of hemodialysis (HD) patients might contribute to their frequent septic complications. We compared the effects of 13 wk of Betadine and 13 wk of Hibiclens on the skin flora of HD patients and personnel. Skin cultures were obtained weekly immediately prior to the disinfection, preceding each triweekly HD treatment, and monthly, at 2 and 4 hr postdisinfection. Total bacterial counts from predisinfection cultures were not significantly altered over either 13-wk treatment period. Hibiclens reduced total bacterial counts (p less than 0.01) and eradicated cutaneous staphylococci (p = 0.032) at both 2 and 4 hr postdisinfection significantly more than did Betadine. No reduction of staphylococcal sensitivity to either germicidal agent could be demonstrated. Neither agent was associated with severe adverse reactions and Hibiclens could not be detected in the blood. Hibiclens appears to offer short-term advantages over Betadine in the HD setting because of significantly longer duration of antibacterial activity.