Background: The clinical syndrome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) peritoneal dialysis (PD) peritonitis is poorly understood. Whether local tuberculosis (TB) patterns modify the clinical syndrome, and what factors associate with poor outcomes is also unknown.Methods: A scoping review identified published cases of TB PD peritonitis. Cases from low-and high-TB burden areas were compared, and cases that did or did not suffer a poor clinical outcome were compared.Results: There were 216 cases identified. Demographics, presentation, diagnosis, treatment and outcomes were described. Significant delays in diagnosis were common (6.1 weeks) and were longer in patients from low-TB burden regions (7.3 vs. 3.7 weeks). In low-TB burden areas, slower diagnostic methods were more commonly used like PD fluid culture (64.3% vs. 32.7%), and treatment was less likely with quinolone antibiotics (6.9% vs. 34.1%). Higher national TB incidence and lower GDP per capita were found in cases that suffered PD catheter removal or death. Diagnostic delays were not longer in cases in which a patient suffered PD catheter removal or death. Cases that suffered death were older (51.9 vs. 45.1 years) and less likely female (37.8% vs. 55.7%). Removal of PD catheter was more common in cases in which a patient died (62.0% vs. 49.1%).

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Background: Functional peritoneal dialysis (PD) access is critical to the success of PD therapy. The aim of this review is to describe the spectrum of definitions and methods employed in the measurement of unique outcomes across PD access trials particularly focusing on the outcomes of PD access flow restriction and operative-related outcomes. Methods: Using Cochrane CENTRAL registry, MEDLINE, and EMBASE, we searched for studies restricted to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving interventions related to PD access without restrictions on age, language, or publication year. Studies were screened and data abstracted by two independent reviewers. Definitions, outcome measures, and time points of measurements were captured and documented separately. Unique combinations of these variables resulted in reporting the different ways of measurements. Results: Of the 1768 screened studies, 47 RCTs were included among which 817 PD access outcomes were grouped into 7 broad categories. Interventions evaluated in the RCTs were catheter type/configuration ( n = 17), insertion technique ( n = 15), multiple interventions ( n = 3), and other (6 interventions, n = 12). PD access flow restriction (a subcategory of mechanical outcomes) and operative-related outcomes were reported in 91% and 58% of the included trials, respectively. Tip migration was the most frequently reported flow restriction outcome (59% of RCTs) followed by catheter dysfunction (23% of RCTs). Of the components utilized in definition of flow restriction, description of the impaired flow was reported in 37% of RCTs, need for intervention in 42% of RCTs, and presumed etiology of flow restriction in 60% of RCTs. Conclusion: Variability exists in the definitions, reporting methods, choice of outcomes, and analysis of the PD access outcomes across RCTs. Operative-related outcomes remain underreported across RCTs. Outcomes relating to PD access flow restriction were the most common complications reported in the included RCTs but were reported heterogeneously with variability in reporting of the three key components of its definition including description and severity of the flow restriction, the need for intervention and etiology of flow restriction. In the future, defining PD access flow restriction should include all of these components to better evaluate the comparative effect of various PD access interventions.

Background/Aims: Sudden cardiac death remains the leading cause of death in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Prolongation of QTc intervals (as measured by the tangent method) increases sudden cardiac death risk in populations without kidney disease. Methods: We performed a retrospective electrocardiograph (ECG) and chart review of HD patients. Our objectives were (1) to establish the effect of one of four different dialysis modalities on interdialytic QTc intervals, (2) to determine the effect of dialysis frequency and time on QTc interval and on the prevalence of borderline or prolonged QTc intervals, and (3) to determine if changes in QTc interval were simultaneous to changes in electrocardiographic left ventricular mass. Results: Frequent nocturnal HD was associated with a decrease in QTc interval for all patients (from 436.5 to 421.3 ms, p = 0.0187) and for patients who initiated dialysis with prolonged QTc (468.2 to 438.2 ms, p = 0.0134). This change happened before changes in left ventricular mass were evident. Dialysis duration predicted a decrease in QTc better than dialysis frequency (R² 6.50 vs. 3.00%, p = 0.023 vs. 0.102). Prevalence of borderline or prolonged QTc increased in patients dialyzed <4 h/session (12/39 to 22/39, p = 0.039). Conclusions: Frequent nocturnal HD may be the ideal modality to initiate HD in end-stage kidney disease patients with prolonged QTc.

Background: Nephrologists need effective screening tools to identify hemodialysis patients at elevated risk for sudden cardiac death, the leading cause of death in this population. QTc intervals longer than 450 ms in males and 470 ms in females, measured by the gold standard tangent method (trueQTc), are prolonged and increase sudden cardiac death in healthy populations and patients with long QT syndrome. Methods: We performed a retrospective ECG and chart review of hemodialysis patients. Our first objective was to determine if machine-measured QTc intervals (macQTc) could be used to identify dialysis patients with prolonged trueQTc. Our second objective was to determine at what macQTc could prolonged trueQTc be confidently diagnosed. Results: macQTc differed from the trueQTc by an average of 16.54 ms, and by at least 20 ms in 46.8, 36.1, 53.6, 50.0 and 57.1% of all, short-hours daily hemodialysis, intermittent conventional hemodialysis, frequent nocturnal hemodialysis and intermittent nocturnal hemodialysis patients, respectively. The positive predictive value, negative predictive value, sensitivity and specificity of prolonged macQTc predicting prolonged trueQTc was 57.6, 92.6, 79.1 and 81.8%, respectively. Thus, macQTc is inaccurate at predicting the gold standard trueQTc in hemodialysis patients. macQTc greater than 480 ms in hemodialysis patients predicts trueQTc prolongation with a positive predictive value of 95.2%, but with a low sensitivity of 32.3%. Conclusion: In hemodialysis patients, ECG macQTc intervals are insufficiently sensitive or specific to predict prolonged trueQTc intervals, unless >480 ms.

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The expansion and transformation over time of dialysis therapies have been inexorably linked to the concept of adequacy. While initially the goal of dialysis was simple survival of patients until their next treatment, this changed with the publication of the National Cooperative Dialysis Study. It brought about a focus on defining adequate dialysis through measurements of the removal of small solutes, in particular urea. This spurred significant improvements in patient outcomes by standardizing therapy and providing benchmarks for each center to achieve. Over time, however, further research has found this narrow definition of adequacy to be insufficient to encompass the complexities of dialysis therapies. Factors such as residual kidney function (RKF), nutritional and volume status, and cardiovascular control all contribute to the outcomes for dialysis patients. We propose that an optimal definition of adequacy should not only focus on one factor but rather the interconnection and contribution to our patient's individual specific goals and their overall quality of life. How to cite this article: Momciu B, Chan CT. Evaluating dialysis adequacy: Origins, evolution, and future directions.