Aim: An ultra pressure liquid chromatography (UPLC)/MS/MS method for vancomycin and teicoplanin determination in human plasma was developed in accordance with analytical quality by design (AQbD) concept and fully validated. Materials & methods: Chromatographic separation was performed on ACQUITY UPLC C18 charge surface hybrid (CSH) column (2.1 mm × 50 mm, 1.7 μm particle size) in gradient mode and the mobile phase consisted of 0.1% formic acid in water and pure acetonitrile. The experimental design methodology was used for the definition of optimal chromatographic and protein precipitation conditions. Results: The linearity ranges were 0.05–10 μg ml-1 for vancomycin and 0.5–200 μg ml-1 for total teicoplanin. The relative standard deviations for precision estimation were below 15% and the accuracy was within 85–115% for all quality control levels. Conclusion: The method was utilized for glycopeptide antibiotics bioanalysis.

Background/Aim. Vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency is often present in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and could present a risk factor for rapid progression of diabetic nephropathy and for higher incidence of cardiovascular events. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of vitamin D supplementation on proteinuria, cholesterol, triglycerides, C-reactive protein (CRP) and hemoglobin A1c in patients with type-2 DM and vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency. Methods. This prospective, cohort study included 90 patients with type-2 DM and vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency divided into 3 equal groups: with normal proteinura, with microproteinuria and with macroproteinuria. Therapy included six months of supplementation with cholecalciferol drops: first two months with 20,000 IU twice weekly, than if level of vitamin D was below normal the same dose was given next four months. If the level of vitamin D was normal 5,000 IU was given twice weekly. At the begining and at the end of the study the levels of urea, creatinine, fasting blood glucose, calcium, phosphorus, cholesterol, triglycerides, CRP, hemoglobin A1c, intact parathyroid hormone, 24-hour urine protein and creatinine clearance were determined. Levels of calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D were also checked 2 months after beginning of therapy due to possible correction of cholecalciferol dose. Results. The lowest level of vitamin D before therapy was found in patients with macroproteinuria, while at the end of the study the significantly higher level of vitamin D was found in all three groups. After 6 months of therapy a significant decrease of 24-hour urine protein, cholesterol, triglycerides, hemoglobin A1c in all three groups, and CRP in patients with normal proteinuria and microproteinuria were found. Significantly negative correlation between vitamin D and 24-hour urine protein, cholesterol and CRP was found in patients with macroproteinuria. Also, significantly negative correlation was found between vitamin D and hemoglobin A1c, in patients with normal proteinuria, vitamin D and CRP in patients with microproteinuria. Conclusion. A preventive use of high-dose cholecalciferol supplementation in patients with type-2 DM (with or without proteinuria) decreases cholesterol, triglycerides, proteinuria, CRP and hemoglobin A1c.

In spite of the worse HLA matching, graft survival and function of renal grafts from spousal donors were as good as those retrieved from related donors.

Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome (HUS) is a clinical syndrome with a triad of non-immune Microangiopathic Hemolytic Anemia (MAHA), thrombocytopenia and renal failure. Together with the Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP), it belongs to a group of diseases characterized as the Thrombotic Microangiopathy (TMA), which represents a microvascular occlusive disorder with the formation of a predominantly thrombocytic thrombus in the renal and/or systemic circulation. In the period starting from 2001 to 2017, 14 patients with a HUS were diagnosed at the Clinic for Nephrology (unfortunately ADAMTS 13 could not have been done due to technical reasons). In a retrospective clinical laboratory analysis and monitoring, we obtained the following results. Out of 14 patients, 10 were female (or 71.43%) and 4 were male (28.57%), the youngest patient was aged 17 and the oldest one 78, the average age of our patients was 55.33 years, the annual number of patients with the diagnosis of HUS was 0.93 patients per year, or 0.00116 in relation to the total number of patients treated. After monitoring the patients individually for the period ranging from 1 to 14 years, a stable remission was achieved in 5 patients, while a chronic renal insufficiency occurred in 3 patients. In two of our patients, a percutaneous kidney biopsy was performed with pathohistological findings described in references. Having done this retrospective analysis, we can conclude that the survival and complications of this rare, but serious disease correspond to the available world data.