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The International Quotidian Dialysis Registry (IQDR) is a global initiative designed to study practices and outcomes associated with the use of hemodialysis (HD) regimens of increased frequency and/or duration. The IQDR grew out of the initiative that lead to the randomized prospective studies of nocturnal HD and short hours daily dialysis vs. conventional thrice weekly HD that are conducted by the Frequent Hemodialysis Network sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. These 2 separate studies are drawing to a close and the first results are expected to be reported later this year. These studies use surrogate outcomes for their primary endpoints as they are not powered to look at outcomes of mortality and hospitalization. The IQDR attempts to aggregate long-term follow-up data from centers utilizing alternative HD regimens worldwide and will have adequate statistical power to examine those important outcomes. To date, the IQDR has enrolled patients from Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and France and has linked with commercial databases and national registries. This sixth annual report of the IQDR describes: (1) An update on the governance structure; (2) The recommendations made at the first general meetings of the IQDR Scientific Committee and Advisory Board; (3) The status of those recommendations; (4) A summary of current data sources and participating registries; (5) The status of recruitment to date; (6) The creation of a specific Canadian IQDR data set and; (7) The current research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Quotidian Dialysis Registry (IQDR) is a global initiative designed to study practices and outcomes associated with the use of hemodialysis regimens of increased frequency and/or duration. Several small studies suggest that compared with conventional hemodialysis (HD), short-daily, nocturnal, and long conventional HD regimens may improve surrogate endpoints and quality of life. However, methodologically robust comparisons on hard outcomes are sorely lacking. The IQDR represents the first-ever attempt to aggregate long-term follow-up data from centers utilizing alternative HD regimens worldwide, and will have adequate statistical power to examine the effects of these regimens on multiple clinical endpoints, including mortality. To date, the IQDR has enrolled patients from Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, with plans in place to begin linking with additional commercial databases and national registries. This fifth annual report of the IQDR describes (1) a proposed governance structure that will facilitate international collaboration, stakeholder input and funding; (2) data sources and participating registries; (3) recruitment to date and patient baseline characteristics; and (4) an agenda for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative hemodialysis (HD) schedules, including short-daily and nocturnal HD, continue to proliferate, with the hope of offering improved patient outcomes. Three nights per week and every other night, nocturnal HD are now being provided to more patients worldwide, both at home and in-center. However, alternative HD schedules are still experimental in most centers, and studies establishing the efficacy of these therapies with respect to major clinical outcomes are needed. Endorsed by the National Institutes of Health, the International Quotidian Dialysis Registry is an international collaboration that was established in 2002 to prospectively study large numbers of patients treated with alternate HD schedules. The Registry will ultimately allow alternate HD modalities to be compared to conventional thrice-weekly HD with respect to clinical endpoints, including mortality, using a prospective cohort study. To date, the Registry has enrolled 182, 1193, and 740 subjects from Canada, the United States, and Australia, respectively. This report is the fourth annual update and describes recruitment progress, baseline characteristics of enrolled patients, and worldwide prescription patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the dialysis unit Medical Director has evolved over time to an expanded set of roles from one that used to be strictly “medical” to one that is more “managerial.” Physicians providing these Medical Director services are facing increasing demands for a leadership role regarding clinical quality improvement and measurement of performance in core areas of care within the dialysis program. The dialysis Medical Director is asked to lead in group decision-making, in analyzing core process and patient outcomes and in stimulating a team approach to Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and patient safety. For the end-stage renal disease program, national quality expectations in dialysis care have stimulated the dialysis providers to measure, report and respond consistently in an effort to provide a higher level of cost-efficient care. Medical Directors are usually contractually linked to the dialysis programs for which they provide oversight and their contracts are explicit about the relationship they maintain and the role they are expected to play within dialysis companies (often called “provider organizations”). The evolution of the Medical Director role has led to a close relationship between the company that provides the dialysis services and the physician providing the medical oversight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urea space and total body water measurements by stable isotopes in patients with acute renal failure. Background. Knowledge of urea volume of distribution (Vurea) in patients with acute renal failure (ARF) is critical in order to prescribe and monitor appropriate dialytic treatment. We have recently shown that in ARF patients, Vurea estimation by urea kinetic modeling is significantly higher than total body water (TBW) by anthropometric estimation. However, these estimates of Vurea and TBW have not been validated by isotopic methods, considered as reference measurement standards. Methods. In this study, we measured Vurea by [13C]urea and TBW by deuterium oxide (D2O) in 21 patients with ARF (14 males, 7 females, age 62.0 ± 10.6 years old, 83% Caucasian, 17% African American) at three different centers. These measurements were compared to TBW estimates from anthropometric and bioelectrical impedance (BIA) measurements. Results. Our results show that Vurea by [13C]urea (51.0 ± 11.7 L) is significantly higher than TBW estimated by all other methods (TBW by D2O: 38.3 ± 9.8 L, P < 0.001; TBW by BIA: 45.7 ± 15.7 L, P= 0.08; TBW by Watson formula: 38.3 ± 7.3 L, P < 0.001; TBW by Chertow formula: 39.3 ± 7.8 L, P= 0.002, all versus Vurea). Despite significant overestimation of the absolute value and considerable variation, Vurea significantly correlated with TBW by BIA ( r= 0.66, P < 0.01) and TBW by D2O ( r= 0.5, P= 0.04). There was also significant correlation between D2O and BIA determined TBW ( r= 0.8, P < 0.001). Conclusion. In terms of useful guidelines to prescribe a specific dose of dialysis in patients with ARF, conventional estimates of TBW as surrogates for Vurea should be used with caution. We propose that these conventional estimates of TBW should be increased by approximately 20% (a factor of 1.2) to avoid significant underdialysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the role of transforming growth factor-beta in the pathogenesis of dialysis-related to amyloidosis. Termination of inflammatory response; Release of proinflammatory cytokines through macrophage activation; Measurement of endotoxin levels.