Surveillance of Hemodialysis Related Infections: A Prospective Multicenter Study

There is neither a surveillance system nor a study to reveal the HD related infection rates in Turkey. We aimed to investigate the infection rate among HD outpatients and implement CDC’s surveillance system. A multicenter prospective surveillance study is performed to investigate the infection rate among HD patients. CDC National Healthcare Safety Network dialysis event (DE) protocol is adopted for definitions and reporting. During April 2016–April 2018, 9 centers reported data. A total of 199 DEs reported in 10035 patient-months, and the overall DE rate was 1.98 per 100 patient-months. Risk of blood culture positivity is found to be 17.6 times higher when hemodialysis was through a tunneled catheter than through an arteriovenous fistula. DE rate was significantly lower in patients educated about the care of their vascular access site. Staphylococcus aureus was the most causative microorganism among mortal patients. Outcomes of DEs were hospitalization (73%), loss of vascular access (18.2%), and death (7.7%). This first surveillance study revealed the baseline status of HD related infections in Turkey and showed that NHSN DE surveillance system can be easily implemented even in a high workload dialysis unit and be adopted as a nationwide DE surveillance program.

Seroprevalence of Leptospirosis in Suspected High Risk Sudanese Patients; A Pilot Exploratory Study

BackgroundThe extent of leptospirosis is unknown in Sudan and it might be mistaken for other more common febrile infectious diseases. Leptospirosis might also be associated with renal diseases that are common in Sudan. We intended to explore the existence of human leptospirosis in suspected high risk patients in Khartoum, Sudan, via sero-screening random febrile patients and those undergoing renal dialysis.MethodsThis is a pilot exploratory study that was conducted in 6 months period from April to September of 2013. Hospitals were selected conveniently following a non-random sampling approach. A total of 119 febrile patients (with or without definitive diagnosis) and patients under renal dialysis were included and their serum specimens, clinical and demographic data were collected. Sera were screened qualitatively for the existence of anti-leptospiral IgM antibodies using rapid lateral flow immunosorbent assay. Ethical clearance and official permissions were obtained.ResultsOut of the total 119 patients, 57 (47.9%) had end stage renal disease and were under dialysis at Renal Dialysis Unit in Asbab Charity Hospital in Bahri, 47 (39.5%), were febrile with unknown origin attending the Tropical Medicine Hospital in Omdurman, and 15 (12.6%) were febrile and were diagnosed as having malaria or typhoid and attended Yastabshiron Medical Centre and Bashauer Teaching Hospital. The overall prevalence of anti-leptospiral IgM antibodies among all 119 screened patients was 7%. The prevalence among the 57 with end stage renal disease was 9%, and among the 47 with fever of unknown origin was 6%. The prevalence among the 15 with fever of known origin (diagnosed as malaria or typhoid) was 0%. Almost all positive patients had recurring episodes of fever, are in close contact with livestock, were farmers and have natural untreated source for drinking water.ConclusionLeptospirosis is probably a common febrile condition and can be easily considered as one of the major causes of chronic kidney disease affecting people in this country. A national sero-screening for leptospirosis among those living in high risk geographical areas and those at occupational risk is highly recommended.

Predictors of Mortality in Hemodialyzed Patients after SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Introduction: The determinants of COVID-19 mortality are well-characterized in the general population. Less numerous and inconsistent data are among the maintenance hemodialysis (HD) patients, who are the population most at risk of an unfavorable prognosis. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study we included all adult HD patients from the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection hospitalized between 6 October 2020 and 28 February 2021, both those who survived, and also those who died. Demographic, clinical, treatment, and laboratory data on admission, were extracted from the electronic medical records of the dedicated hospital and patients’ dialysis unit, and compared between survivors and non-survivors. We used univariable and multivariable logistic regression methods to explore the risk factors associated with 3-month all-cause mortality. Results: The 133 patients (53.38% males) aged 73.0 (67–79) years, with a median duration of hemodialysis of 42.0 (17–86) months, were included in this study. At diagnosis, the majority were considered to have a mild course (34 of 133 patients were asymptomatic, another 63 subjects presented mild symptoms), while 36 (27.07%) patients had low blood oxygen saturation and required oxygen supplementation. Three-month mortality was 39.08% including an in-hospital case fatality rate of 33.08%. Multivariable logistic regression showed that the frailty clinical index of 4 or greater (OR 8.36, 95%CI 1.81–38.6; p < 0.01), D-Dimer of 1500 ng/mL or greater (6.00, 1.94–18.53; p < 0.01), and CRP of >118 mg/L at admission (3.77 1.09–13.01; p = 0.04) were found to be predictive of mortality. Conclusion: Very high 3-month all-cause mortality in hospitalized HD patients was determined mainly by frailty. High CRP and D-dimer levels upon admission further confer mortality risk.

Hemodialysis in the context of COVID-19: care, nursing protagonism and quality

ABSTRACT Objective: To reflect on the need to reorganize satellite dialysis units to ensure the safety of patients and workers, focusing on minimizing the risk of contamination by SARS-CoV-2. Methods: Reflection considering the guidelines of international and Brazilian institutions and scientific articles, with a view to possible adaptations to the Brazilian reality. Results: The actions suggested and adapted by Dialysis Units from different countries during the pandemic focus on the quality of care and safety of the patient and workers. There was an opportunity to reflect on these actions using the Donabedian Model for quality of care and highlight the nursing team’s role in this context. Final considerations: The focus on quality and safety related to institutionalized processes and the assessment through indicators can contribute to the management of the outpatient dialysis unit in the context of COVID 19.

Biochemical Investigation to Determine the Factors Involved in Renal Failure Formation for Dialysis Patients

Renal failure is on the top list of kidney diseases as being frequently reported in many medical facilities around the globe. Human kidneys play an important role in excreting, reabsorbing, secreting and filtrating substances in the body. Healthy kidney must excrete the waste products of the body in urine and preserve albumin, and other useful substances in the body. The current study aims to figure out the expected factors of renal failure formation in dialysis patients. Likewise, it is designed to search for any correlation between the imbalanced levels of electrolytes and kidney deterioration. The current study was conducted in Ramadi city-Iraq with the assistance of Al-Ramadi Educational Hospital (REH). The (14th) samples of renal failure patients were collected from dialysis unit at (REH). (2-3 mL) of blood was taken from a patient’s vein. The serum was separated from plasma with the use of a centrifuge. All samples were undergone centrifuging for (4-7 min) at (550 rpm). Afterward, samples were subjected to biochemical examinations to determine the levels and quantities of some biochemical elements and other substances in the selected cases. It was found that some patients had been recorded with a decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR), high HbA1c level (˃ 6.5 mg/dL) (21.5%), anemia (˂ 12.0 mg/dL) (%100) in women and (˂ 13.5 mg/dL) in men (%100), Uremia (˃ 45mg/dL) (%100), hypercalcemia (˃10.5 mg/dL) (%7.14), hyperkalemia (˃ 5.1 mg/dL) (%92.8), and Hypernatremia (˃145 mg/dL) (%28.5). Some results obtained, imbalanced levels of the mentioned substances, are either progressed with kidney deterioration, or they are the causes of renal failure. Changes in the levels of some blood substances were observed, and positive results were obtained regarding the aim of the study. Levels or quantities of some blood substances play an important role in preserving kidneys good performance. For instance, when the level of glucose in blood raises, a severe damage to the blood vessels of the kidney takes place and results in poor kidney's performance. While, an increment in the K serum level causes a sudden cardiac death. Changing in some levels and quantities of blood substances could be a core cause of renal failure formation, however, some of them develops when kidney deteriorates.

Assessment of Dietary Folate Intake and Pill Burden among Saudi Patients on Maintenance Hemodialysis

The aim of this study was to assess the adequacy of dietary folate intake and perceptions of pill burden among Saudi patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). This was a cross-sectional study of adults (>18 years) on MHD (>3 months) attending the dialysis unit at King Saud University Medical City. Patient demographics, dietary folic acid intake, and perceptions of pill burden were collected. Fifty-four patients met the eligibility criteria, with a mean age of 57 ± 15.5 years. The majority were females (63%), and the most prevalent comorbidities were diabetes (43%) and hypertension (76%). The average number of medications/patients was 11 ± 2.9, and most patients were receiving folate supplementation (68.5%). The average dietary folate intake was 823 ± 530 mcg/day. Pill burden was bothersome, primarily due to taking too many medications (57%) while taking medications at the workplace was the least bothersome burden (17%). The reported high pill burden and adequate dietary folate intake by Saudi patients on MHD indicates that the omission of folate supplementation may be advantageous for this special population.

Measuring Cannulation Skills for Hemodialysis: Objective Versus Subjective Assessment

Lack of cannulation skill during hemodialysis treatments results in poor clinical outcomes due to infiltration and other cannulation-related trauma. Unfortunately, training of patient care technicians and nurses, specifically on the “technical” aspects of cannulation, has traditionally not received much attention. Simulators have been successfully deployed in many medical specialties for assessment and training of clinical skills. However, simulators have not been as widely used in nursing, especially in the context of training clinical personnel in the dialysis unit. We designed a state-of-the-art simulator for quantifying skill for hemodialysis cannulation. In this study, 52 nurses and patient care technicians with varying levels of clinical experience performed 16 cannulations on the simulator with different fistula properties. We formulated a composite metric for objectively measuring overall success of cannulation and compared this metric with subjective assessment by experts. In addition, we examined if years of clinical experience correlated with objective and subjective scores for cannulation skill. Results indicated that, while subjective and objective metrics generally correlated with each other, the objective metric was more precise and better suited for quantifying cannulation skill. Further, the simulator-based objective metric provides several advantages over subjective ratings, including providing fine-grained assessment of skill, consistency in measurement unaffected by subjective biases, and basing assessment on a more complete evaluation of performance. Years of clinical experience, however, demonstrated little correlation with either method of skill assessment. The methods presented for cannulation skill assessment in this study, if widely applied, could result in improved cannulation skill among our PCTs and nurses, which could positively impact patient outcomes in a tangible way.