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Objective: Semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist is approved for weight loss and diabetes treatment, but limited literature exists regarding semaglutide use in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). Therefore, this project assessed the safety and efficacy of semaglutide among patients with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 15-29 mL/min/1.73 m 2 (CKD stage 4), eGFR<15 mL/min/1.73 m 2 (CKD stage 5) or on dialysis., Methods: This is a retrospective electronic medical record based analysis of consecutive patients with advanced CKD (defined as CKD 4 or greater) who were started on semaglutide (injectable or oral). Data was collected between January 2018 and January 2023. Investigators verified CKD diagnosis and manually extracted data. Data were analyzed using Fisher's exact test, paired t test, linear mixed effects models and Wilcoxon signed rank test., Results: Seventy-six patients with CKD 4 or greater who initiated semaglutide were included. Most patients had a history of type 2 diabetes mellitus (96.0%), and most were males (53.9%). The mean age was 66.8 y (SD 11.5) with the mean body mass index was 36.2 (SD 7.5). The initial doses were 3 mg orally and 0.25 mg by injection. Maximum prescribed dose was 1 mg (injectable) in 28 (45.2%) patients and 14 mg (orally) in 2 (14.2%) patients. Patients received semaglutide for a median duration of 17.4 (IQR 0.43, 48.8) months. Forty-eight (63.1%) patients reported no adverse effects associated with the therapy. Mean weight decreased from 106.2 (SD 24.2) to 101.3 (SD 27.3) kg (P < .001). Eight patients (16%) with type 2 diabetes mellitus T2DM discontinued insulin after starting semaglutide. Mean hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) decreased from 8.0% (SD 1.7) to 7.1% (SD 1.3) (P < .001). Adverse effects were the primary reason for semaglutide discontinuation (37.0%), with nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain being the most common complaints., Conclusions: Based on this retrospective study semaglutide appears to be tolerated by most individuals with CKD 4 or greater despite associated gastrointestinal side effects similar to those observed in patients with better kidney function and leads to an improvement of glycemic control and insulin discontinuation in patients with T2DM. Modest weight loss (approximately 4.6% of the total body weight) was observed on the prescribed doses. Larger prospective randomized studies are needed to comprehensively assess the risks and benefits of semaglutide in patients with CKD 4 or greater and obesity., Competing Interests: Disclosure Dr Aleksandra Kukla participated in NovoNordisk Advisory Board in 2020 but recieved no personal compensation. Dr Matthew M. Clark, Associate Editor, Obesity. Intellectual Property, Phenomix Science, Inc, Pheno-Diet: Individualized Lifestyle Intervention for Obesity Management Based on Obesity Phenotypes., (Copyright © 2024 AACE. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The cost and risks of red blood cell (RBC) transfusions, along with evidence of overuse, suggest that improving transfusion practices is a key opportunity for health systems to improve both the quality and value of patient care. Previous work, which included a BestPractice Advisory (BPA), was adapted in a quality improvement project designed to reduce both exposure to unnecessary blood products and costs., Methods: A prospective, pre-post study was conducted at an academic medical center with a diverse patient population. All noninfant inpatients without gastrointestinal bleeding who were not within 12 hours of surgical procedures were included. The interventions were education, a BPA, and other enhancements to the computerized provider order entry system., Results: The percentage of multiunit (≥ 2 units) RBC transfusions decreased from 59.9% to 41.7% during the intervention period and to 19.7% postintervention (p < 0.0001). The percentage of inpatient RBC transfusion units administered for hemoglobin (Hb) ≥ 7 g/dL declined from 72.3% to 57.8% during the intervention period and to 38.0% for the postintervention period (p < 0.0001). The overall rate of inpatient RBC transfusion (units administered per 1,000 patient-days without exclusions) decreased from 89.8 to 78.1 during the intervention period and to 72.7 during the postintervention period (p <0.0001). The estimated annual cost savings was $1,050,750., Conclusion: The interventions reduced multiunit transfusions (by 67.1%) and transfusions for Hb ≥ 7 g/dL (by 47.4%). The improvement in the overall transfusion rate (19.0%) was less marked, limited by better baseline performance relative to other centers., (Copyright © 2017 The Joint Commission. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The effects of multiple freeze-thaw cycles and various temperatures (-20 degrees C, 4 degrees C, 25 degrees C, 37 degrees C) on the reactivity of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibodies were evaluated using current ELISA, recombinant, and Western blot methodologies. Twenty consecutive freeze-thaw cycles and storage of specimens at -20 degrees C and 4 degrees C for 57 days resulted in no loss of HIV antibody reactivity nor false positive samples. Maintenance of clinical specimens at 25 degrees C and 37 degrees C for 57 days resulted in some loss of HIV antibody reactivity, but all positive and weakly reacting samples remained positive, and negative samples were unaffected.

In order to evaluate the effect of heat inactivation on serum undergoing testing for HIV antibody, 100 heat-inactivated and nonheat-inactivated serum samples were tested by two modifications of Abbott's screening assays for human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-III (lot numbers 1037 and 3036) and by two confirmatory assays (Cambridge BioScience CBre3-EIA; Damon Corporation Western blot). The samples consisted of 75 HIV antibody-negative and 25 HIV antibody-positive sera. The specimens were divided into two equal aliquots. One set was not subjected to heat inactivation, while the others were subjected to heat inactivation at 56 degrees C for 30 min. Heat inactivation had no significant effect on the HIV-position sera; however, heat-inactivated, negative sera evaluated by Abbott lot numbers 1037 and 3036 resulted in false-positive rates of 8% and 7%, respectively. No false positives were generated by the two confirmatory assays; however, the CBre3-EIA recombinant envelope protein assay had a significantly increased optical density reading following heat inactivation of the negative sera. The Western blot procedure used in the study was not affected by heat inactivation.