Contrast-induced acute kidney injury is a common iatrogenic complication associated with increased health resource utilization and adverse outcomes, including short- and long-term mortality and accelerated progression of preexisting renal insufficiency. The incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) has been reported to range from 0% to 24%. This wide range reported by the studies is due to differences in definition, background risk factors, type and dose of contrast medium used, and the frequency of other coexisting potential causes of acute renal failure. CIN is usually transient, with serum creatinine levels peaking at 2–3 days after administration of contrast medium and returning to baseline within 7–10 days after administration. Multiple studies have been conducted using variety of therapeutic interventions in an attempt to prevent CIN. Of these, careful selection of patients, using newer radiocontrast agents, maintenance of hydration status, and avoiding nephrotoxic agents pre- and post-procedure are the most effective interventions to protect against CIN. This review focuses on the basic concepts of CIN and summarizes our recent understanding of its pathophysiology. In addition, this article provides practical recommendations with respect to CIN prevention and management.

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Thymoquinone (TQ), 2-Isopropyl-5-methyl-1, 4-benzoquinone, is one of the most active ingredients of Nigella Sativa seeds. TQ has a variety of beneficial properties including anti­oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities. Studies have provided original observations on the role of oxidative stress and inflammation in the development of renal diseases such as glomerulo­nephritis and drug-induced nephrotoxicity. The renoprotective effects of TQ have been demons­trated in animal models. Also, TQ has been used successfully in treating allergic diseases in humans. The aim of this review is to highlight the importance of reactive oxygen species in renal pathophysiology and the intriguing possibility for a role of TQ in the prevention of and/or protection from renal injury in humans.

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In most developing countries, nutritional rickets is a major health problem. The aim of this study was to explore the magnitude of nutritional rickets among Saudi infants, and the various clinical presentations, as well as to address the possible operating risk factors behind the disease. We carried out a retrospective study at King Abdulaziz Medical City-King Fahad National Guard Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The records of Saudi infants under the age of 14 months over a 10-year period (between January 1990 and January 2000) were reviewed. Infor­mation collected included age, sex, clinical presentations, biochemical, radiological findings, infant nutrition, presence of other nutritional deficiencies and exposure to sunlight. There were 283 infants diagnosed with nutritional rickets due to Vitamin D deficiency (67% males) who were between 6 and 14 months of age. Among the total, 70% were exclusively breast-fed, and 23% were breast-fed until the age of 1 year. The most frequent clinical presentation was hypo-calcemic convulsions (34%) followed by chest infections (33%) and gastroenteritis (25%). In conclusion, nutritional rickets is still prevalent in Saudi Arabia with the primary etiology being vitamin D deficiency. Therefore we recommend that every infant, who is exclusively on breast-feeding, has routine supplement of vitamin D in the range of 200 IU/day (alone or as apart of multivitamin), started soon after birth until the time of weaning.

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This paper reviews the standpoints of Muslim jurists within the Sunni tradition on organ transplantation. Muslim jurists allowed different forms of bone grafts (autograft, allograft and xenograft) for widely broken bones. Ibn Sina in 1037 discussed this subject in Al-Kanoon 1000 years ago. In 1959, the Muftis of Egypt and Tunisia allowed, under specific conditions, corneal transplants from dead persons. Thereafter, many fatwas (jurisprudence) on organ trans­plantation have been issued from different parts of the Muslim world. In Amman, Jordan, the International Islamic Jurist Council recognized brain-death as a recognized sign of death in Islam in October 1986. This paved the way for organ transplantation from brain-dead persons, which started immediately in Saudi Arabia. In 1990 and 2003, the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA) and the Islamic Fiqh Academy (IFA) issued important fatwas on organ transplantation. By the end of 2008, more than 3600 organs were transplanted from brain-dead persons in Saudi Arabia.

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The first renal transplantation in Iran was carried out in 1967. Between 1967 to 1988 almost all renal transplants were from living-related donors and the number of renal transplants performed was much lower than the national demand. In 1988, a compensated and regulated living­unrelated donor renal transplantation program was adopted. As a result, the number of renal transplants performed substantially increased such that in 1999, the renal transplant waiting list was completely eliminated. By the end of 2006, a total of 21251 renal transplants were performed (3641 from living­related, 16544 from living-unrelated and 1066 from deceased-donors). In this program, many ethical problems that were associated with paid kidney donation were prevented. Currently, Iran is the only country with no renal transplant waiting lists, and >50% of patients with end-stage renal disease have functioning grafts. In April 2000, the legislation was passed by parliament accepting brain death and allowing deceased-donor organ transplantation. By the end of 2006, 18 brain death identification units, 13 organ procurement units were organized, and a total of 1546 deceased-donor organ transplantations were performed (1066 kidney, 327 liver, 122 heart, 20 lungs, 7 pancreas-kidney, 2 heart-lungs and 2 small bowel transplants). The number of deceased-donor organ transplants have slowly but steadily increased in the country. The majority of deceased-donor kidney, liver, and pancreas transplants have been performed by transplant team of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences.

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In most Western countries, diabetic nephropathy (DN) has become the single most common condition found in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This is to some extent due to better survival of diabetic patients with renal failure, but mostly due to the dramatic increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes. The majority of type 2 diabetic patients with renal failure suffer from nodular glomerulosclerosis (Kimmelstiel-Wilson); but ischemic nephropathy, irreversible acute renal failure (mostly acute on chronic) and diabetes co-existing with primary renal diseases are common as well. Classical DN evolves in a sequence of stages. After a period of glomerular hyperfiltration, increased urinary albumin excretion [microalbuminuria (MA)] i.e. 30-300 mg/day or 20 - 200 µg/minute indicates the onset of overt DN. Risk factors for development of DN are positive family history, hyperglycemia in the mother during pregnancy, high blood pressure, obesity and insulin resistance. Poor glycemic control (HbA1c) and elevated systolic blood pressure (> 135 mm Hg) interact in enhancing the risk of DN. Proteinuria and smoking are major promoters of progression. The risk of onset of microalbuminuria can be reduced by lowering of blood pressure and specifically by blockade of the renin angiotensin system (RAS). In patients with established DN, the target systolic blood pressure should be <130 mm Hg and RAS blockade is obligatory. Treating all cardiovascular risk factors is a high priority. Antihypertensive management is rendered difficult by extreme volume sensitivity, pronounced activation of the RAS and autonomic neuropathy. Cardiac events are excessively frequent, glycemic control becomes difficult and autonomic diabetic neuropathy with gastroparesis and diabetic foot are additional problems. Hemodialysis or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis should be started relatively early. In the absence of contraindications, transplantation (renal transplantation, combined kidney/pancreas transplantation or pancreas after kidney transplantation) is the treatment of choice.

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The prevalence of sleep disorders is higher in patients with kidney failure than the general population. We studied the prevalence of sleep disorders in 88 (mean age; 41.59 ± 16.3 years) chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients at the Urology and Nephrology Center, Mansoura Uni­versity, Egypt over 4-month period. The investigated sleep disorders included insomnia, restless leg syndrome (RLS), obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), narcolepsy and sleep walking, and we used a questionnaire in accordance with those of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group, the Berlin questionnaire, Italian version of Epworth Sleepiness Scale, International Classification of Sleep Disorders, and the specific ques­tions of Hatoum's sleep questionnaire. The prevalence of sleep disorders was 79.5% in our pa­tients, and the most common sleep abnormality was insomnia (65.9%), followed by RLS (42%), OSAS (31.8%), snoring (27.3%), EDS (27.3%), narcolepsy (15.9%), and sleep walking (3.4%). Insomnia correlated with anemia (r=0.31, P= 0.003), anxiety (r=0.279, P= 0.042), depression (r=0.298, P= 0.24) and RLS (r=0.327, P= 0.002). Also, RLS correlated with hypoalbuminemia (r=0.41, P= < 0.0001), anemia (r=0.301 and P= 0.046), hyperphosphatemia (r=0.343 and P= 0.001). EDS correlated with OSAS (r=0.5, P= < 0.0001), snoring (r=0.341, P= 0.001), and social worry (r=0.27, P= 0.011). Sleep disorders are quite common in the HD patients, especially those who are anemic and hypoalbuminemic. Assessment of sleep quality, preferably with polysomno­graphy, is necessary to confirm our results. Interventional studies for management of sleep disor­ders in HD patients are warranted.

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Immunization is one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20^th century. Vaccines have enabled the eradication of deadly diseases and decreased the morbidity and mortality associated with various infections. Most vaccines are safe to administer and cause only minor side effects. Although very rare, various glomerular diseases and acute kidney injury have been reported following immunization with certain vaccines including influenza, pneumococcal, and hepatitis B vaccines. This review summarizes these rare renal complications that have been published in the literature. Physicians and other health-care providers administrating vaccines should be aware of these very rare but possible renal side effects.

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Tunneled, cuffed central vein catheters (TCC) are widely used for delivering hemodialysis (HD). Among the complications associated with central vein catheters in HD patients, infection is the principal cause of morbidity and mortality. The optimal strategy for management of TCC infections is unclear. This prospective study was aimed at assessing the efficacy of antibiotic-lock therapy using vancomycin and gentamycin in preventing catheter­related blood stream bacterial infection in patients on HD. A total of 63 HD patients with 81 TCC were enrolled at the time of catheter insertion. Patients were randomized into two groups: Group I (33 patients, 37 insertions) included TCC with antibiotic lock therapy, and Group II (30 patients, 44 insertions) with routine TCC management. Infection-free catheter survival of both groups was evaluated and compared at the end of the 12-month study period. A total of 57 TCC infections were encountered with an incidence rate of 8.95 infections per 1000 dialysis sessions (DS). The rate of infection was significantly lower in Group I (4.54 per 1000 DS) as compared to Group II (13.11 per 1000 DS), p < 0.001. The incidence rates of bacteremia as well as clinical sepsis were also significantly lower in Group I than in Group II (p < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between the rates of access site infection in the two Groups (p > 0.05). Our study suggests that antibiotic-lock therapy using a combination of vancomycin and gentamycin is useful in preventing catheter-related blood stream infection in patients on HD.

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Quality of Life (QoL) is a consistent and powerful predictor that affects the out-come in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on dialysis. This study was undertaken to identify the factors that might predict QoL scores among ESRD patients on hemodialysis (HD). The study was conducted at three HD units in Saudi Arabia from January 2007 to January 2008. We studied 100 HD patients (53 males and 47 females) and used the SF-36 and KDQoL-SF forms covering six domains of QoL, namely physical, emotional, social, illness impact, medical and financial satisfaction, and overall general health. The mean age of the study patients was 47.5 ± 13.8 years and the mean duration of dialysis was 77.2 ± 75.5 months. The QoL scores were 45.8 ± 17.1 for general health, 53.1 ± 32.0 for physical QoL, 50.5 ± 14.8 for emotional QoL, 54.9 ± 18.1 for social QoL, 46.5 ± 13.7 for illness impact, and 45.9 ± 12.2 for the medical and financial domain. The total QoL score was 49.5 ± 13.7. The male patients had statistically significantly reduced QoL and younger patients had better QoL scores. The QoL scores revealed a decreasing trend with decreasing level of education; they were elevated among employed patients. Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that age, dialysis duration, and male sex were negative predictors of QoL score. We conclude from our study that QoL is reduced in all the health domains of HD patients. Older age, male gender, unemployment, and duration of dialysis adversely affected the QoL scores. Adequate management of some of these factors could influence patient outcomes.

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Paraganglioma of the urinary bladder is a rare entity, and accounts for less than 0.5% of all bladder tumors. In the genitourinary tract, the urinary bladder is the most common site for paragangliomas. These tumors commonly present with hematuria and intermittent hyper­tension during micturition along with generalized symptoms due to raised catecholamines. Surgical removal is the treatment of choice, with most of the patients requiring at least a partial cystectomy. We herewith report a 38-year-old lady who presented with a two month history of pain abdomen, burning micturition, headache and uncontrolled hypertension. Detailed investi­gations revealed a pheochromocytoma of the urinary bladder, which was treated with partial cystectomy, following which her blood pressure stabilized.

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Depression is recognized as the most common psychiatric problem in patients with end-stage renal disease. Stress negatively affects the quality of life of not only the patients on hemodialysis but also their caregivers. The objective of this study was to measure and compare the frequency of depression in these patients and their attendants, and to assess the associated risk factors in both groups. A cross-sectional study was conducted at our hemodialysis unit from June to September 2009. A total of 180 patients and 180 caregivers were enrolled and the Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI-II) questionnaire was administered. Of the 360 respondents, 201 (55.8%) were males and 264 (73.3) were married. According to the BDI scoring, 135 (75%) of the patients and 60 (33.4%) of the attendants were found to be moderately to severely depressed. Marriage (OR 1.817), low income status (OR 1.757) and unemployment (OR 4.176) correlated with increased depression grade, while gender and education level did not. Anemia was the only co-morbidity showing positive association with depression scores in the patients' group (P = 0.023). We conclude that the majority of the patients undergoing dialysis were depressed and were twice more likely to be depressed than their caregivers. In both groups, marriage and unemployment were associated with increased depressive symptoms, while household income showed negative association with depression. Gender and education level were not related to the depression scores.

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Stress is a well known and identified problem within the nursing profession. Dialysis nurses are exposed to high level of stress. Increasing workload can aggravate stress and cause burnout and exhaustion. Stress and burnout are capable of having a detrimental impact on organizational productivity and pose serious health and safety hazards on the job. We aimed in this study to determine the type and level of stress and the amount of burnout among our dialysis nurses, and to evaluate the managing skills and the impact of stress on their work performance. There were 93 nurses (19 national and 74 expatriate nurses) who answered modified questionnaires to the aims of our prospective and descriptive correlational study. Our results show that most nurses involved in the study (national and expatriate) experienced a mild level of stress (79% and 68%, respectively) and moderate level of burnout (42% and 38%, respectively). The most common stressor among the national nurses was technical breakdowns of machines (15.9%) and that among expatriates was job insecurity (16.9%). The majority of the national nurses (21%) coped with this by increased sick leaves, whereas the majority (25%) of the expatriates responded by becoming easily frustrated. The most utilized coping skill among both groups was the relaxation methods (20.8% versus 24.9%) and the least utilized was denial (3.9% versus 0.5%). In conclusion, our results suggest the exposure of dialysis nurses to different types of stress and demonstrate the different experienced coping skills. These results may have implications for nursing management and hospital administration.

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Kidney transplantation is usually followed by immunosuppressive therapy to prevent early rejection and prolong graft survival. The calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) represent the most commonly used agents. However, available evidence suggests the poor outcome over the long term, maybe be due to the potential nephrotoxicity associated with CNIs. Several randomized trials have compared tacrolimus (TAC) with cyclosporine, to find the optimal agent for renal transplantation; however, studies have shown conflicting results. The aim of this study was to systematically review and update the evidence for the benefits and harm of TAC versus cyclosporine as the primary immunosuppression after renal transplantation. The study was a systematic review and meta-analysis. An electronic literature search was conducted to identify appropriated trial studies. The outcomes were presented as relative risk (RR), with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Statistical analysis used was meta-analysis. Twenty-one eligible randomized controlled trials were included in this systematic review. TAC was significantly superior to cyclosporine considering the total effect size of graft loss (RR 0.089; 95% CI0.057–0.122, P <0.001), acute rejection (RR 0.638; 95% CI 0.571–0.713, P <0.001) and hypercholeste-rolemia (RR 0.634; 95% CI, 0.539–0.746, P <0.001). On the contrary, cyclosporine seemed to be significantly superior to TAC with regard to diabetes (RR 1.891; 95% CI 1.522–2.350, P <0.001). However, no significant differences between the two CNIs were found with regard to mortality, infection, and hypertension. The review indicates that TAC is significantly superior to cyclosporine regarding graft loss, acute rejection, and hypercholesterolemia, but cyclosporine seems to be significantly superior to TAC regarding diabetes. However, further large randomized trials are suggested.

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We have investigated the influence of isolation of patients with different viral serology status on the transmission of viral hepatitis among patients on hemodialysis (HD). Our kidney center was designed to facilitate isolation of infected patients and implement infection control pre-cautions. These included separate rooms, separate entrances and exit sites, and designated HD machines for patients with hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and sero-negative patients. In addition, universal infection control polices and procedures were implemented. These included proper chemical and heat disinfection of all HD machines following each HD session. These measures were complemented with education and training of the nursing staff detailing strict adherence to all infection control policies and procedures. All of our patients and staff were vaccinated against hepatitis B. Our results showed that after four years of follow-up, there was a decrease in the annual incidence of hepatitis C seroconversion from an average of 2.4% to 0.2%. The current prevalence of hepatitis C is 29% compared to 57% at the start of the study. In addition, there have been no reported sero-conversion cases of hepatitis B. Furthermore, our data also confirmed that the prevalence of hepatitis C (as well as hepatitis B) is more frequent in HD (29%) than peritoneal dialysis (5%) units. Surgical procedures, blood transfusion, and frequent visits to different dialysis units remain the major risk factors for contracting viral hepatitis. In conclusion, these results clearly show that isolation of patients and machines, together with strict adherence to infection control policies and procedures, result in a significant decline in the incidence and prevalence and better control of viral hepatitis transmission among HD patients.

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The aim of this work is to study the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) in neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) over a six-month period from September 2011 to March 2012. This prospective study was performed on 250 neonates admitted to the NICU at the Children's Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University. All neonates were subjected to detailed history taking, including pre-natal, natal and post-natal history, with stress on symptoms suggestive of AKI. All neonates were examined thoroughly and the following investigations were performed: Blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine, sodium, potassium, calcium, complete blood count, C-reactive protein, arterial blood gases, urine sodium and urine creatinine. AKI was diagnosed in 27 cases (10.8%), including 12 females and 15 males. 40.7% of the AKI cases were born after full-term pregnancy while 59.3% were pre-term babies. 29.6% of the AKI cases had oliguria, and there was male sex predominance, with a male-female ratio of 1.3:1. The cause of AKI was pre-renal in 96.3% and intrinsic renal in 3.7% of the cases. The predisposing factors for AKI were sepsis in 63% of the cases, respiratory distress syndrome in 55.6%, mechanical ventilation in 51.9%, peri-natal asphyxia in 18.5%, dehydration in 14.8%, surgical operation in 11.1%, congenital heart disease in 7.4%, sub-galeal hematoma in 3.7%, polycythemia in 3.7% and intra-ventricular hemorrhage in 3.7% of the cases. Our data suggest that pre-renal failure was the most common form of AKI in our patients. Early recognition of risk factors such as sepsis, peri-natal asphyxia or peri-operative problems and rapid effective treatment of contributing conditions will reduce the incidence of AKI in the neonatal period.

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Despite advances made in treatment, uremic pruritus remains a common and distressing symptom in patients on hemodialysis (HD). Gabapentin is an effective drug in the management of neuropathic pain. Considering that neuropathic pain and pruritus share similar pathogenic mechanisms, we conducted this study to evaluate the efficacy of gabapentin in controlling uremic itch. In a double blind, placebo-controlled trial, 34 adult patients on maintenance HD were enrolled. The patients were assigned to receive four weeks of treatment with either gabapentin (400 mg) or placebo administered twice weekly after HD sessions. Pruritus scores were measured using a visual analogue scale and compared between the two groups.After four weeks of treatment, the mean decrease in pruritus score in gabapentin and placebo groups was 6.7 ± 2.6 and 1.5 ± 1.8, respectively (p<0.001). None of the patients was forced to drop out of the study due to side effects of the treatment. Our study suggests that gabapentin is a safe and effective treatment for uremic itch.

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The multi-dimensional impact on the quality of life (QOL) of families of children with the nephrotic syndrome (NS) has not been studied sufficiently in the literature. We aimed to study this aspect and the predictors of poor QOL among Indian families having children with NS. A cross-sectional study was conducted to compare the parents of children with chronic NS on treatment for at least one year with parents of a matched healthy control group. The parents of both groups were asked to complete the standard self-administered multi-dimensional questionnaire of Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4 (PedsQL ^TM ) Family Impact Module (FIM). Descriptive and analytical statistics were performed to compare scores between the two groups. Possible predictors of poor outcome in each of the summary scales among the cases were assessed by both univariate and multivariate analysis. The parents of 61 cases and 72 controls completed the PedsQL ^TM FIM questionnaire. The scores in each of the categories, namely FIM Total Scale Score, Parent HRQOL Summary Score, Family Functioning Summary Score and eight individual domains, were found to be significantly higher among controls. Female gender of the affected child was an independent risk factor for poor Family Functioning Summary Score. Also, presence of serious complications during the course of the disease independently predicted poor Total FIM and Parent HRQOL Summary Scores. Even a relatively benign and potentially curable chronic disorder in children, like the NS, can disturb the QOL of parents in multiple domains of functioning.

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Influenza vaccination is widely used in transplant recipients, but there is little known about the significance and correlating factors of its effectiveness. In the current study, we reviewed the existing literature on clinical trials performed in transplant recipients on the effectiveness of influenza vaccination and to evaluate the relevance of the type of immunosuppression employed in these patients on the humoral reaction to the vaccine. A comprehensive search of the literature was performed through Pubmed and Google Scholar to find reports indicating immunogenicity of influenza vaccination in transplant patients. Finally, data from 15 published clinical trials were included in the meta-analysis. Data of 947 transplant recipients retrieved from 15 clinical trials investigating the immunogenicity of influenza vaccination were analyzed in this meta-analysis. Analysis showed significantly lower rates of sero-conversion among transplant recipients receiving mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) than other immunosuppressive agents (relative risk: 0.724; 95% confidence interval: 0.596-0.880; P = 0.001). No significant correlation was found with tacrolimus, sirolimus, cyclosporine and azathioprine. Different immunosuppressive agents seem to have different effects on the humoral response rate to influenza vaccination, with MMF having the most significant deleterious effect. The limited and controversial data available in the literature do not support any differential effect for other immunosuppressive agents.

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The prevalence and incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are increasing in developed and developing countries, and this will place an enormous financial burden for health-care systems. The exact reasons of the rising prevalence of ESRD patients are unknown, but it can be attributed to an increase in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension as the most common causes of ESRD. However, in contrast to the developed countries, the etiology of ESRD in the significant percent of patients with ESRD in Iran is unknown. In our country, the patients with chronic kidney diseases present themselves to the hospital only when they have severe symptoms of uremia, and, at this time, determining the primary cause of ESRD is often not possible. In addition, although the prevalence and incidence of ESRD are also significantly increasing in Iran in recent years, they are still lower compared with developed countries, which may also be due to poor referral resulting in the under diagnosis of ESRD. The aim of this review is to evaluate the epidemiologic aspects of ESRD in Iran, including demographic data, cause of ESRD, kind of renal replacement therapies implemented and their survival.

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Candiduria is a common nosocomial infection afflicting the urinary tract. This review is aimed at providing an updated summary of the problem in hospitalized adult patients. A review of English Medline literature published between Jan 1970 until June 2007 was performed. Reviews, clinical trials and case-controlled studies in adult patients were included. Risk factors for candiduria included urinary indwelling catheters, use of antibiotics, elderly age, underlying genitourinary tract abnormality, previous surgery and presence of diabetes mellitus. Presence of candiduria may represent only colonization and there are no consistent diagnostic criteria to define significant infection. Candiduria may not be associated with candidemia and most cases are asymptomatic. Asymptomatic candiduria is usually benign, and does not require local or systemic antifungal therapy. Physicians need to confirm the infection by a second sterile urine sample, adopt non-pharmacologic interventions and modify risk factors. Mortality rate can be high particularly in debilitated patients and awareness to validate candiduria is necessary to stratify treatment according to patient status. Appropriate use of anti fungal drugs, when indicated, should not replace correction of the underlying risk factors. Treatment of symptomatic candiduria is less controversial and easier.

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This study aims to evaluate efficacy and safety of Nigella sativa oil supplementation in patients with chronic kidney disease Stage 3 and 4 due to diabetic nephropathy. It was a prospective, comparative, and open-label study. Patients were randomized into two groups. Group 1 (Control) received conservative management of diabetic nephropathy, whereas Group 2 (Test) received N. sativa oil (2.5 mL, once daily and per orally) along with conservative management for 12 weeks. Blood glucose, hemogram, and kidney function test were done at 0, 6, and 12 weeks of treatment. Significance of differences between pre- and post-treatment values in each group was assessed using Student's paired t-test and between the groups using unpaired t-test. We found a drop in blood glucose, serum creatinine, blood urea, and 24 h total urinary protein levels and a rise in glomerular filtration rate, 24 h total urinary volume, and hemoglobin level in the treatment group compared to the control group.

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Hemodialysis (HD) has a severe impact on the life of HD patients. The aim of this work was to assess the prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders, suicidal ideation, and the quality of life among HD patients. Associated factors were also studied. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 103 HD patients treated at the HD Center of Al Farabi Hospital of Oujda during a period of six months in 2015. The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview and European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) were used for the assessment. Major depressive episode (MDE) was found in 34% of our patients, whereas anxiety disorder was observed in 25.2%. Suicidal ideation was found in 16.5% and 1.9% of our patients planned their suicide. The EQ-5D index was 0.41 ± 0.36 and the EQ-Visual Analog Scale score was 45.73 ± 14. Multivariate analysis showed that MDEs were associated with three factors: marital status, pain, and anxiety disorder. There was also an association between anxiety disorder and age and EQ-Visual Analog Scale score. Suicidal ideation was associated with marital status and anxiety disorders. Together, these results underline the importance of the collaboration between nephrologists and psychiatrists for a better care of HD patients.

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The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in hemodialysis patients (HD) has decreased significantly during the past decade in most HD units. To evaluate the cause(s) of this reduction, we studied the HCV antibodies measurements in 1006 HD patients in the Province of Mazandaran, Iran, from January 2001 to December 2006. In December 2001, the prevalence of antibody to HCV was 18%, whereas by December 2006, it decreased to12%. Causes implicated in the reduction of prevalence of HCV infection in HD patients include a low percentage of new anti-HCV+ patients, a decrease in the conversion rate in HD patients, and more strict infection control measures in the dialysis units.

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The nephrotoxic and extra-renal adverse effects associated with calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) therapies appear to have a negative impact on long-term graft survival. Several CNI minimization protocols have been recently studied. These protocols involve either early CNI avoidance or CNI withdrawal. CNI withdrawal strategies are associated with a significant improvement in renal function and graft survival on both a short and long-term basis. Delayed and progressive withdrawal appears to be safer. Maintaining a high mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) or sirolimus (SIR) exposure minimizes the risk of acute rejection. CNI avoidance regimens using maintenance mono-therapy or combination therapies without induction appear to be immunologically risky and unsafe. In contrast, the combination of SIR + MMF with induction therapy reduces markedly the incidence of acute rejection and chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN). Two year patient and graft survival levels were comparable. CAN as well as the incidence and the risk for cancer in addition to blood pressure profiles and uric acid levels were overall lower in the SIR-based treatment. In contrast, hyperlipidemia, delayed wound healing, lymphocele, arthralgias, thrombocytopenia and study protocol deviations were reported more frequently in the SIR-maintenance protocols. Longer­term follow-ups are definitely needed to determine whether these avoidance strategies will result in a significant improvement in long-term patient and graft survival. Outcome differences among various protocols within the same CNI elimination strategy are probably related to study design, patient selection criteria, immunosuppression monitoring methods, indications for graft biopsies, environmental, and both genetic and ethnic factors. All monitoring techniques are unreliable short of a graft biopsy. Preliminary results on drug lymphocyte binding may offer new guidelines for tailoring immunosuppression. Whether these protocols based on SIR or SIR + MMF can also be extended to high risk patients is currently unknown. These encouraging results allow speculation but with caution that the use of the combination of non-nephrotoxic immunosuppression such as SIR and MMF, might change dramatically the natural course of CAN and may influence long-term patient survival.

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