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Protein catabolic rate (PCR) and PCR normalized to standard weight (PCRN) are important indices of nutrition in patients on continuous peritoneal dialysis. The purpose of this study was to test whether urea clearance is among the predictors of PCR and PCRN in a multivariate analysis. Stepwise logistic regression was used to develop separate models for low PCR and low PCRN on a set of 143 urea kinetic studies in 92 patients on continuous peritoneal dialysis. The regression models were tested on an independent sample of 189 urea kinetic studies in 102 patients on continuous peritoneal dialysis by deriving the area under a receiver operating characteristic curve. In the derivation set, low serum urea, high serum creatinine, low urine and dialysate drain volumes, and low body surface area were identified as predictors of PCR < or = 50 g daily. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve in the validation set was 0.930 (95% confidence interval: 0.915-0.945). Low serum urea, male gender, high body mass index and low urea fractional clearance (KT/V) were predictors of PCRN < or = 0.80 g/kg daily. The receiver operating characteristic area for this model was 0.948 (95% confidence interval: 0.926-0.970). Logistic regression analysis was repeated twice after adding urea nitrogen excretion normalized to standard weight (UNEN) as a candidate variable. This process identified low UNEN, male gender, and obesity as the predictors of low PCRN, and low UNEN, male gender, low urine volume, low drain volume normalized by body water, and high serum albumin as predictors of low KT/V urea. The authors conclude that PCR and PCRN can be predicted by models that incorporate serum azotemic indices, body size and composition, and direct or indirect measurements of urea clearance. Small body size and lean body composition predict low PCR but high PCRN values. Both PCRN and KT/V urea are predicted by UNEN. Multivariate analysis cannot, therefore, rule out the hypothesis that PCRN and KT/V are linked mathematically.

The clinical features, pathogenesis, management, prognosis, and predictors of symptomatic fluid gain (SFR) were analyzed for 71 episodes occurring in 66 patients on continuous peritoneal dialysis, 94.4% on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and 5.6% on continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis. Compared with a control group of 149 CAPD patients, the SFR group had a higher percentage of diabetics (64 versus 46%) and a higher frequency of noncompliance with fluid restriction (76 versus 22%), salt restriction (74 versus 23%), and performance of dialysis (30 versus 7%) (all at P < or = 0.015). Peripheral edema (100%), pulmonary congestion (80%), pleural effusions (76%), and systolic (83%) and diastolic (66%) hypertension were the most common manifestations of SFR. The annual hospitalization rate for SFR was 4.1 +/- 5.8 days per patient. SFR resulted in the discontinuation of CAPD in 10 patients and death in 1 patient. Serum sodium concentration was not different between dry and maximal weight in the SFR group. Thirty-eight (58%) of SFR and 61 (41%) of control patients were evaluated by peritoneal equilibration tests (PET). SFR patients had lower PET drain volume (2.08 +/- 0.47 versus 2.54 +/- 0.23 L) and a higher frequency of high peritoneal solute transport (32.2 versus 2.4%). In this group, logistic regression identified dietary noncompliance, low PET drain volume, and young age as independent predictors of SFR. Response to management and preventive measures was inconsistent. The best results were obtained by the use of short dwell exchanges with hypertonic dialysate in compliant patients with high peritoneal solute transport. SFR has serious consequences in CAPD. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The association between azotemic index dialyzer clearances and hematocrit was investigated in a 63-year-old dialysis-dependent man with acquired renal cysts. During 43 months of hemodialysis, hematocrit rose from 27.3 to 65.0 vol%, as a consequence of high serum erythropoietin levels. Concomitantly, dry weight also increased from 116.8 to 140.8 kg. Both hematocrit and dry weight correlated with: (a) urea reduction ratio, (b) creatinine reduction ratio (CRR), and (c) KT/V urea. All correlations were negative. Stepwise regression showed that only hematocrit was an independent correlate of the CRR (CRR = 0.662 - 007* Hct, R2 = 0.770); whereas, both hematocrit (Hct) and weight (W) were independent correlates of KT/V urea (KT/V = 2.070 - 0.005*Hct - 0.009*W,R2 = 0.721). In addition to creatinine clearance, urea clearance through the dialyzer is reduced by a rising hematocrit. The effect of hematocrit on urea clearance is relatively small. Therefore, it requires large changes in hematocrit in order to be detected.

Technetium-99m DTPA renograms were performed before and after angioplasty in a 63-year-old man with bilateral renal artery stenosis (RAS), hypertension, and renal insufficiency. Decreased isotope uptake after captopril by the right kidney assisted in the selection of the right renal artery for angioplasty. Post-angioplasty improvement in both blood pressure control and renal function was accompanied by an absence of effect of captopril on the isotope uptake by the right kidney. In bilateral RAS, the captopril renogram is a useful tool for selecting the site for angioplasty, for assessing the adequacy of the procedure, and for long-term follow-up.

Captopril renography is a valuable test in the diagnosis of patients with renal artery stenosis. We examined the criteria for selecting patients for this procedure and the best methods for preparing the patient for renography.

To improve the diagnosis and forecast the response to surgery or renal angioplasty in patients with hypertension and renal artery stenosis, we employed a simplified captopril renography protocol in conjunction with renal arteriography in 94 clinically selected patients. Fifty hypertensive patients (group 1) with a high clinical likelihood of renovascular hypertension were evaluated using a simplified captopril renography protocol and renal angiography on the arterial side. Criteria for normal captopril renal scintigrams were established based on this original cohort and validated in an additional 44 clinically comparable patients (group 2). Renal revascularization or nephrectomy was performed in 39 patients, and success of the procedure was determined in the 34 patients for whom 3-month follow-up was available. In the 94 patients, 44 (47%) had renal artery stenosis. Simplified captopril renography was 91% sensitive and 94% specific in identifying or excluding renal artery stenosis in the combined group, with no difference in the diagnostic utility between groups 1 and 2, or in those with renal insufficiency (n = 38) or those with bilateral disease (n = 17). Scintigraphic abnormalities induced by captopril were strongly associated with cure or improvement in blood pressure control following revascularization or nephrectomy (15 of 18), while the lack of captopril-induced changes was associated with failure of such intervention (13 of 16) (p = 0.0004). We conclude that simplified captopril renography is highly sensitive and specific in the diagnosis of renal artery stenosis in a clinically selected high-risk population and that the test accurately predicts the success or failure of therapeutic intervention.

Lightning is a significant cause of mortality in Zimbabwe. The same study showed that 21 per cent of fatal lightning strikes occurred with victims inside a hut. We report a case who survived a severe lightning strike with unusual features of a temporary bulbar palsy.