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Rationale : Patients with end-stage renal disease are characterized by increased cardiovascular and all-cause mortality because of advanced remodeling of the macrovascular and microvascular beds. Objective : The aim of this study was to determine whether retinal microvascular function can predict all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease. Methods and Results : In the multicenter prospective observational ISAR study (Risk Stratification in End-Stage Renal Disease), data on dynamic retinal vessel analysis were available in a subcohort of 214 dialysis patients (mean age, 62.6±15.0; 32% women). Microvascular dysfunction was quantified by measuring maximum arteriolar dilation and maximum venular dilation (vMax) of retinal vessels in response to flicker light stimulation. During a mean follow-up of 44 months, 55 patients died, including 25 cardiovascular and 30 noncardiovascular fatal events. vMax emerged as a strong independent predictor for all-cause mortality. In the Kaplan-Meier analysis, individuals within the lowest tertile of vMax showed significantly shorter 3-year survival rates than those within the highest tertile (66.9±5.8% versus 92.4±3.3%). Univariate and multivariate hazard ratios for all-cause mortality per SD increase of vMax were 0.62 (0.47–0.82) and 0.65 (0.47–0.91), respectively. Maximum arteriolar dilation and vMax were able to significantly predict nonfatal and fatal cardiovascular events (hazard ratio, 0.74 [0.57–0.97] and 0.78 [0.61–0.99], respectively). Conclusions : Our results provide the first evidence that impaired retinal venular dilation is a strong and independent predictor of all-cause mortality in hemodialyzed end-stage renal disease patients. Dynamic retinal vessel analysis provides added value for prediction of all-cause mortality and may be a novel diagnostic tool to optimize cardiovascular risk stratification in end-stage renal disease and other high-risk cardiovascular cohorts. Clinical Trial Registration : URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT01152892.

Background The small number of organ donors forces transplant centres to consider potentially suboptimal kidneys for transplantation. Eurotransplant established an algorithm for rescue allocation (RA) of kidneys repeatedly declined or not allocated within 5 h after procurement. Data on the outcomes and benefits of RA are scarce to date. Methods We conducted a retrospective 8-year analysis of transplant outcomes of RA offers based on our in-house criteria catalogue for acceptance and decline of organs and potential recipients. Results RA donors and recipients were both older compared with standard allocation (SA). RA donors more frequently had a history of hypertension, diabetes or fulfilled expanded criteria donor key parameters. RA recipients had poorer human leucocyte antigen (HLA) matches and longer cold ischaemia times (CITs). However, waiting time was shorter and delayed graft function, primary non-function and biopsy-proven rejections were comparable to SA. Five-year graft and patient survival after RA were similar to SA. In multivariate models accounting for confounding factors, graft survival and mortality after RA and SA were comparable as well. Conclusions Facing relevant comorbidities and rapid deterioration with the risk of being removed from the waiting list, kidney transplantation after RA was identified to allow for earlier transplantation with excellent outcome. Data from this survey propose not to reject categorically organs from multimorbid donors with older age and a history of hypertension or diabetes to aim for the best possible HLA matching and to carefully calculate overall expected CIT.

BackgroundThe ISAR study is a prospective, longitudinal, observational cohort study to improve the cardiovascular risk stratification in endstage renal disease (ESRD). The major goal is to characterize the cardiovascular phenotype of the study subjects, namely alterations in micro- and macrocirculation and to determine autonomic function.Methods/designWe intend to recruit 500 prevalent dialysis patients in 17 centers in Munich and the surrounding area. Baseline examinations include: (1) biochemistry, (2) 24-h Holter Electrocardiography (ECG) recordings, (3) 24-h ambulatory blood pressure measurement (ABPM), (4) 24 h pulse wave analysis (PWA) and pulse wave velocity (PWV), (5) retinal vessel analysis (RVA) and (6) neurocognitive testing. After 24 months biochemistry and determination of single PWA, single PWV and neurocognitive testing are repeated. Patients will be followed up to 6 years for (1) hospitalizations, (2) cardiovascular and (3) non-cardiovascular events and (4) cardiovascular and (5) all-cause mortality.Discussion/conclusionWe aim to create a complex dataset to answer questions about the insufficiently understood pathophysiology leading to excessively high cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality in dialysis patients. Finally we hope to improve cardiovascular risk stratification in comparison to the use of classical and non-classical (dialysis-associated) risk factors and other models of risk stratification in ESRD patients by building a multivariable Cox-Regression model using a combination of the parameters measured in the study.Clinical trials identifierClinicalTrials.gov NCT01152892 (June 28, 2010)

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Immunosuppression leaves transplanted patients at particular risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection. The specific features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in immunosuppressed patients are largely unknown and therapeutic experience is lacking. Seven transplanted patients (two liver, three kidneys, one double lung, one heart) admitted to the Ludwig‐Maximilians‐University Munich because of COVID‐19 and tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 were included. The clinical course and the clinical findings were extracted from the medical record. The two liver transplant patients and the heart transplant patient had an uncomplicated course and were discharged after 14, 18, and 12 days, respectively. Two kidney transplant recipients were intubated within 48 hours. One kidney and the lung transplant recipients were required to intubate after 10 and 15 days, respectively. Immunosuppression was adapted in five patients, but continued in all patients. Compared to non‐transplanted patients at the ICU (n = 19) the inflammatory response was attenuated in transplanted patients, which was proven by decreased IL‐6 blood values. This analysis might provide evidence that continuous immunosuppression is safe and probably beneficial since there was no hyperinflammation evident. Although transplanted patients might be more susceptible to an infection with SARS‐CoV‐2, their clinical course seems to be similar to immunocompetent patients.

Urinary NGAL, at respective cut-off, accurately discriminates acute allograft rejection from other causes of AKI in follow-up after kidney transplantation. As a readily available parameter, urinary NGAL may guide differential diagnosis and initial therapy in allograft recipients with AKI.