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Many studies have reported poor vital prognosis in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected dialysis patients. The rate of HCV-infected dialysis patients in Japan is as high as 9.8%, and antiviral therapy is believed to be important for improving vital prognosis. We conducted a multicenter study to examine the administration method for pegylated interferon α-2a (PEG-IFNα-2a) monotherapy in HCV-infected dialysis. We studied 56 patients: 14 with low viral loads (HCV RNA < 5.0 log IU/mL) were treated with 90 μg PEG-IFNα-2a weekly, 42 with high viral loads (HCV RNA ≥ 5.0 log IU/mL) were treated with 135 μg PEG-IFNα-2a weekly. We examined the sustained virological response (SVR), factors affecting the SVR, and treatment safety. The overall SVR rate was 39% (22/56); that for genotype 1, genotype 2, low viral loads, and high viral loads was 29%, 67%, 93%, and 21%, respectively. From receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, the HCV RNA cutoff values likely to achieve SVR for genotypes 1 and 2 were

Although hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a persistent public health concern in hemodialysis patients, there seem to have been only a few reports on the prevalence of HCV at the start of hemodialysis. In this study we investigated whether patients starting on hemodialysis therapy are positive for anti-HCV antibody or not. The 400 patients who began regular hemodialysis between February 2003 and June 2007 were enrolled in this study. Clinical data such as age, anti-HCV antibody and primary cause of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) were examined. As healthy controls we used 70,717 healthy blood donors in 2005 whose data were obtained from Tokyo Metropolitan Red Cross Blood Center. Anti-HCV antibody was used as an indicator of HCV infection. Since the prevalence of HCV infection is affected by age in Japan, we classified the patients by age group. The anti-HCV antibody prevalence rate among the patients who were new to hemodialysis was 7.3%, as opposed to 0.15% in the healthy volunteers. The prevalence of HCV in the 31–45-, 46–60-, and 61-year-old groups was significantly higher among the hemodialysis patients than among the healthy volunteers (P = 0.0209

症例1は29歳の女性. 1歳5か月にオルニチントランスカルバミラーゼ欠損症と診断された. 以後, 感染や疲労・ストレスで高アンモニア血症 (100～300μg/dL) をきたし入退院を繰り返していた. 平成13年3月23日, 嘔気があり当院外来を受診. アンモニア345μg/dLと上昇を認めL-アルギニン20g/日の点滴を施行した. しかし, 意識障害の改善なくアンモニア536μg/dLと上昇を認めたため血液濾過透析 (HDF) を施行した. 2日間のHDF施行でアンモニア72μg/dLと低下, 意識障害の改善を認めた. その後, 安息香酸ナトリウムの内服でアンモニアの上昇, 意識障害の出現なく退院となった. 症例2は筋緊張性ジストロフィーの28歳, 女性. 歩行困難, 脱力, 意識障害で入院となった. 入院翌日のアンモニアは717μg/dLと上昇し昏睡状態, 呼吸不全となった. 肝不全の所見なく原因不明の高アンモニア血症に対しHDFを施行した. 3日間のHDF施行でアンモニア40μg/dLに低下し意識状態の改善を認めた. 入院後の血漿アミノ酸分析により高シトルリン血症を認め, 成人発症2型シトルリン血症と診断した. L-アルギニンと安息香酸ナトリウムの投与を開始し, アンモニアの上昇, 意識障害の出現なく退院となった. 尿素サイクル異常症による昏睡を伴う高アンモニア血症にはL-アルギニンの経静脈投与が施行されている. 本症例のように急性期にL-アルギニンの投与が無効な症例, 昏睡を伴う原因不明の高アンモニア血症の症例には急性血液浄化の施行が有効と考えられた.

A consensus conference for the Guidelines for the Management of Secondary Hyperparathyroidism in Chronic Dialysis Patients was conducted in the general meeting of the Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy (JSDT) in June 2006, and the guidelines were proposed in the Journal of JSDT in 4 months later. The aim of this study was performed on the status of observance with the data, based on 6 months later proposal of the guidelines. Only 48.9% stayed within the range specified by the calcium and phosphorus guideline. Moreover, only 12% of patients were able to remain within the ranges specified by all three guidelines (calcium, phosphorus, and PTH), 6 months later proposal of the guidelines. In our institution, compliance with the JSDT guidelines was inadequate. Major reasons were the special characteristics of the medical care system and patients in our institution as a university hospital. Further improvement in the contents and method of the use of the guidelines is necessary alongside observation of the present situation in Japan.