Secondary hyperparathyroidism increases morbidity and mortality in hemodialysis patients. The Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative Guidelines recommend parathyroidectomy for patients with chronic kidney disease and parathyroid hormone concentrations exceeding 800 pg/mL; however, this concentration represents an arbitrary cut-off value. The present study was conducted to identify factors influencing mortality in hemodialysis patients with parathyroid hormone concentrations exceeding 800 pg/mL and to evaluate the effects of parathyroidectomy on outcome for these patients. Two hundred twenty-one hemodialysis patients with parathyroid hormone concentrations > 800 pg/mL from July 2004 to June 2010 were identified. 21.1% of patients (n = 60) received parathyroidectomy and 14.9% of patients (n = 33) died during a mean follow-up of 36 months. Patients with parathyroidectomy were found to have lower all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 0.34). Other independent predictors included age ≥ 65 years (aHR: 2.11) and diabetes mellitus (aHR: 3.80). For cardiovascular mortality, parathyroidectomy was associated with lower mortality (HR = 0.31) but with a marginal statistical significance (p = 0.061). In multivariate analysis, diabetes was the only significant predictor (aHR: 3.14). It is concluded that, for hemodialysis patients with parathyroid hormone concentrations greater than 800 pg/mL, parathyroidectomy is associated with reduced all-cause mortality.

Background. The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors associated with receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD) in patients with incident end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in a hospital in Southern Taiwan. Methods. The study included all consecutive patients with incident ESRD who participated in a multidisciplinary predialysis education (MPE) program and started their first dialysis therapy between January 1, 2008, and June 30, 2013, in the study hospital. We provided small group teaching sessions to advanced CKD patients and their family to enhance understanding of various dialysis modalities. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze the association of patient characteristics with the chosen dialysis modality. Results. Of the 656 patients, 524 (80%) chose hemodialysis and 132 chose PD. Our data showed that young age, high education level, and high scores of activities of daily living (ADLs) were positively associated with PD treatment. Patients who received small group teaching sessions had higher percentages of PD treatment (30.5% versus 19.5%; P = 0.108) and preparedness for dialysis (61.1% versus 46.6%; P = 0.090). Conclusion. Young age, high education level, and high ADL score were positively associated with choosing PD. Early creation of vascular access may be a barrier for PD.

BackgroundAs both of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and depression carried a poor prognosis in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD), we investigated the correlation between the ankle-brachial index (ABI), an indicator of subclinical PAD, and symptoms of depression in patients on MHD.MethodsOne hundred and twenty-nine patients on MHD (75 males and 54 females, mean age 64.8 ± 12 years) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study, which aimed at evaluating the relationship between symptoms of depression and ABI. Demographic as well as clinical and laboratory variables including status of diabetes, chronic hepatitis C infection, dialysis duration, Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), plasma levels of albumin, C-peptide, insulin, high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), adiponectin, and lipid profile were obtained. The self-administered beck depression inventory (BDI) was used to determine the presence or absence of symptoms of depression, and depression was defined as a BDI score ≧14. Multivariable-adjusted linear regression models were constructed to confirm the independent association of biologic parameters of symptoms of depression. Significance was defined as P < 0.05. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS/Windows software (SPSS Science, v. 15.0, Chicago, IL).ResultsThe mode of multivariate analysis showed that diabetes (β = 3.594; P = 0.040), hepatitis C infection (β = 4.057; P = 0.008), levels of serum albumin (β = −5.656; P = 0.024), C-peptide (β = −0.292; P = 0.002), ABI (β = −9.041; P = 0.031), and Ln-transformed hsCRP were significantly associated with BDI.ConclusionsHepatitis C infection, serum levels of albumin, C-peptide, and ABI levels were found to be correlated with BDI (P < 0.05).

AimPatients with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) who received parathyroidectomy (PTX) had persistently reduced levels of parathyroid hormone. This study investigated the risk of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in patients with ESRD who underwent PTX using a nationwide health insurance claims database.MethodsOf all ESRD patients, we selected 1047 individuals who had undergone PTX between 2000 and 2008 as the PTX group and 4188 patients who did not undergo PTX (non‐PTX group) matched by propensity score. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was conducted for assessing the excess ACS risk for the PTX group compared to the non‐PTX group.ResultsThe mean follow‐up periods were 4.63 and 4.04 years for the PTX and non‐PTX groups, respectively. A significant reduction in the risk of ACS (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.74, 95% confidence interval = 0.57–0.96) was observed for the ESRD patients after PTX.ConclusionsParathyroidectomy is associated with reduced risk of ACS in patients with ESRD.

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