Journal Watch
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Wearable artificial kidney a step closer?
A company called National Quality Care presented its newly patented wearable artificial kidney (WAK) at the recent American Society of Nephrology meeting in Philadelphia. Invented by Dr. Victor Gura, the WAK is vastly smaller than current machines, and will permit 24/7 dialysis. Read more to learn how it will work.
Read the abstract » | (added 2011-02-24)
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Home hemo rates vary more than other modalities
A paper published in this month's Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation by Drs. Macgregor, Agar, and Blagg found more variation in the rates of home hemo between countries than any other type of dialysis. The authors concluded that "significant expansion of home HD is likely to be possible in most countries, and will be increasingly important as the impressive results of more frequent HD gain credence."
Read the abstract » | (added 2011-02-24)
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Study finds survival advantage for home hemo over in-center
A new retrospective Swiss study (Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation Jan 2005, 20:604-610) matched 58 home hemo (HHD) patients with 58 in-center patients on sex, age, length of time on dialysis, and cause of kidney failure. The researchers found better survival among the HHD patients at 5 (93% vs. 64%), 10 (72% vs. 48%), and 20 years (34% vs. 23%).
Read the abstract » | (added 2011-02-24)
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Human trial reports on wearable artificial kidney (WAK) in UK
The competition for better home HD gets even hotter! The December 2007 edition of Lancet includes an article about use of the WAK in 5 men and 3 women, who tried the device for 4–8 hours. There were no adverse heart, electrolyte, or acid-base events—though some access problems did occur, and dialysis itself is not yet optimal. It's still cool, though.
Read the abstract » | (added 2011-02-24)
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Stable hemoglobin levels predict survival in HD
An analysis of 34,963 dialyzors found that variations in hemoglobin were harmful. In fact each 1 g/dL increase in hemoglobin variability raised the risk of death by 33%—even after adjusting for many other factors. Good anemia management can help you live longer.
Read the abstract » | (added 2011-02-24)
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Fewer heart problems with nocturnal HD
A new 2-year study from Canada looked at 42 folks on standard HD and 32 on nocturnal HD. Hospital stays for heart problems dropped in those using nocturnal, but stayed the same for the standard dialyzors. Lower phosphorus and better anemia control were also found in those using nocturnal.
Read the abstract » | (added 2011-02-24)
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