Patient-related factors are as important as procedure-related factors in determining risk for post-ERCP pancreatitis. These data emphasize the importance of careful patient selection as well as choice of technique in the avoidance of post-ERCP pancreatitis.

No abstract

An increased albumin excretion rate (AER) is associated with impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes mellitus in some populations, but data on Americans of Northern European origin are lacking. In 1986-1987, AER and creatinine clearance were measured in 455 adults in a survey of the population of Wadena, Minnesota. Thirty-five subjects (8%) had an AER > or = 15 micrograms/minute, and eight of these had overt proteinuria (AER > or = 175 micrograms/minute). AER and creatinine clearance were uncorrelated except when AER was increased. Unadjusted mean AER in a stratified random sample of adults (n = 374) was 3.6 micrograms/minute. Adjusted values for 277 subjects with normal glucose tolerance and for 80 subjects with impaired glucose tolerance were very similar (3.8 and 3.7 micrograms/minute, respectively), whereas mean AER was 5.4 micrograms/minute for persons with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) who were not taking insulin and 9.4 micrograms/minute for persons with NIDDM who were taking insulin (p < 0.0001). After adjustment for age, mean creatinine clearance was unrelated to glucose tolerance. Systolic blood pressure was a major determinant of increased AER (p < 0.0001) and lowered creatinine clearance (p = 0.0011), independently of diabetes. AER was stable over 5 years among the 321 cases who were not taking insulin and were not severely hypertensive. The decrease in creatinine clearance was greater in ex-smokers and current smokers than in nonsmokers. The authors conclude that hypertension and NIDDM were independently associated with the risk of kidney damage in this population, as indicated by a higher AER. High-normal blood pressure, but not impaired glucose tolerance, was associated with microalbuminuria. These relatively mild changes may reflect an ethnically based resistance to the damaging effects of hyperglycemia on the kidney. Smoking may accelerate the aging-related decline in glomerular filtration rate.

Abstract. Whether the high incidence of ischemic heart disease (IHD) among renal transplant patients can be attributed to the same risk factors that have been identified in the general population is unclear. The risk for major IHD events occurring >1 yr after transplantation among 1124 transplant recipients was estimated by using the risk calculated from the Framingham Heart Study (FHS). The FHS risk predicted IHD (relative risk, 1.28; 95% confidence interval, 1.20 to 1.40; P < 0.001); however, the FHS risk tended to underestimate the risk of IHD for renal transplant recipients. This was largely attributable to increased risks associated with diabetes mellitus and, to a lesser extent, age and cigarette smoking for renal transplant recipients. For men, the relative risks for diabetes mellitus were 2.78 (1.73 to 4.49) and 1.53 for the transplant recipient and FHS populations, respectively; the relative risks for age (in years) were 1.06 (1.04 to 1.08) and 1.05, respectively, and those for smoking were 1.95 (1.20 to 3.19) and 1.69, respectively. For women, the relative risks for diabetes mellitus were 5.40 (2.73 to 10.66) and 1.82, respectively. There was a tendency for the risk associated with cholesterol levels to be higher for transplant recipients, compared with the FHS population, but the risks associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and BP appeared to be comparable. Independent of these and other risk factors, the adjusted risk of IHD for the transplant recipient population has decreased. Compared with the era before 1986, transplantation between 1986 and 1992 was associated with a lower relative risk of 0.60 (0.39 to 0.92); transplantation after 1992 was associated with an even lower relative risk of 0.27 (0.11 to 0.63) for IHD. Of concern was the fact that dihydropyridine calcium channel antagonists were associated with an increased risk for IHD (relative risk, 2.26; 95% confidence interval, 1.24 to 4.12; P = 0.008), and this association was independent of other antihypertensive agents and risk factors. Therefore, although the FHS risk predicts IHD after renal transplantation, it tends to underestimate the risks, especially the risk associated with diabetes mellitus. The unexpected finding that dihydropyridine calcium channel antagonists were associated with an increased IHD risk merits further evaluation.

These data suggest that cytomegalovirus disease is not a significant risk factor for the development of primary ischemic heart disease after renal transplantation.