Impaired renal function affects clinical outcomes and management of patients with heart failure.

AIMS: Inpatients with heart failure and renal impairment have poor outcomes and variable quality of care. We investigate treatment practice and outcomes in an unselected real-world cohort using historical creatinine measurements. METHODS AND RESULTS: Admissions between 1/4/2013 and 30/4/2015 diagnosed at discharge with heart failure were retrospectively analysed. Stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and acute kidney injury (AKI) were calculated from creatinine at discharge and 3-12 months before admission. We identified 1056 admissions of 851 patients (mean age 76 years, 56% Caucasian, 36% with diabetes mellitus, 54% with ischaemic heart disease, and 57% with valvular heart disease). CKD was common; 36%-Stage 3a/b, 11%-Stage 4/5; patients were older, more often diabetic, with higher potassium, lower haemoglobin, and more oedema but similar prevalence of left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) compared patients with Stages 0-2. AKI was present in 17.0% (10.4%-Stage 1, 3.7%-Stage 2, and 2.9%-Stage 3); these had higher potassium and lower haemoglobin than patients with no AKI. Length of stay was longer in Stage 4/5 CKD [11 days; P = 0.008] and AKI [13 days; P = 0.006]. Mortality was higher with Stage 4/5 CKD (13.8% compared with 7.7% for Stages 0-2 CKD (P = 0.036)] and increased with AKI (5%-no AKI, 20.9%-Stage 1, 35.9%-Stage 2, and 48.4%-Stage 3; P < 0.001). Adjusted for age, diabetes, and LVSD, both AKI and Stage 4/5 CKD were independent predictors of in-hospital mortality. In survivors with LVSD, the discharge prescription of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers decreased with progressive CKD, [84%-no-mild, 59%-moderate, and 36%-severe CKD; P < 0.001]; this was not purely explained by hyperkalaemia. CONCLUSIONS: Inpatients with heart failure and renal impairment, acute and chronic, failed to receive recommended therapy and had poor outcomes

Improving coverage measurement for reproductive, maternal, neonatal and child health: gaps and opportunities.

BACKGROUND: Regular monitoring of coverage for reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child health (RMNCH) is central to assessing progress toward health goals. The objectives of this review were to describe the current state of coverage measurement for RMNCH, assess the extent to which current approaches to coverage measurement cover the spectrum of RMNCH interventions, and prioritize interventions for a novel approach to coverage measurement linking household surveys with provider assessments. METHODS: We included 58 interventions along the RMNCH continuum of care for which there is evidence of effectiveness against cause-specific mortality and stillbirth. We reviewed household surveys and provider assessments used in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to determine whether these tools generate measures of intervention coverage, readiness, or quality. For facility-based interventions, we assessed the feasibility of linking provider assessments to household surveys to provide estimates of intervention coverage. RESULTS: Fewer than half (24 of 58) of included RMNCH interventions are measured in standard household surveys. The periconceptional, antenatal, and intrapartum periods were poorly represented. All but one of the interventions not measured in household surveys are facility-based, and 13 of these would be highly feasible to measure by linking provider assessments to household surveys. CONCLUSIONS: We found important gaps in coverage measurement for proven RMNCH interventions, particularly around the time of birth. Based on our findings, we propose three sets of actions to improve coverage measurement for RMNCH, focused on validation of coverage measures and development of new measurement approaches feasible for use at scale in LMICs

Dosing of oral penicillins in children: is big child=half an adult, small child=half a big child, baby=half a small child still the best we can do?

postprin

Acute kidney injury: an acceptable risk of treatment with renin-angiotensin system blockade in primary care?

Background: Use of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockade has become increasingly widespread driven by evidence-based guidance. There is concern about the role of these agents in the genesis of avoidable acute kidney injury (AKI). Objectives: To investigate the association between AKI and use of RAS blockade. Design: Multilevel hierarchical analysis of a large cohort of patients registered with UK general practitioners. Setting: Primary care practices in East and West Kent, United Kingdom. Patients: 244,715 patients from 27 practices. Measurements: Demographic, clinical, biochemical and prescription data. Methods: Analyses of data acquired between 02/3/2004 and 17/04/2012 using multilevel logistic regression to determine the relationship between AKI and use of RAS blockade; further analysed by indication for treatment with RAS blockade. Results: Sufficient serum creatinine data were available to define AKI in 63,735 patients with 208,275 blood test instances. In 95,569 instances the patient was prescribed a RAS antagonist of which 5.4% fulfilled criteria for AKI. The unadjusted odds ratio (OR) for AKI in those prescribed RAS blockade was 1.93 (1.81-2.06, 95%CI) falling to 1.11 (1.02-1.20, 95%CI) when adjusted for age, gender, co-morbidity, GFR category, proteinuria, systolic blood pressure and diuretic therapy. In patients with an evidence-based indication there was no difference in absolute risk of AKI. However, prescription of RAS blockade in the absence of indication appeared to be associated with greater risk of AKI. When analysis was repeated with AKIN2/AKIN3 as the outcome, although risk of AKI remained significant when unadjusted (OR 1.73, 95%CI 1.42-2.11, p<0.001), after full adjustment there was no increased risk (OR 0.83, 95%CI 0.63-1.09) in those taking RAS antagonists. However, when analysed by indication AKIN2/AKIN3 was significantly more likely in those prescribed RAS antagonists without indication (OR 2.04, 95%CI 1.41-2.94, p<0.001). Limitations: Observational database study. No information concerning hospitalisation. Prescribing assumptions and potential inaccurate coding. Potential survival bias; patients surviving longer will contribute more data. Conclusions: Use of RAS antagonists increased the risk of AKI, independent of common confounding variables. After correction for confounders the risk fell away and became non-significant for moderate and severe AKI. However, where there was no evidence-based indication for RAS antagonists the risk of AKI, whether mild, moderate or severe, remained greater

Implementation Plan for Five Total Maximum Daily Loads for Bacteria in Four Austin Streams

The implementation plan provides an overview of five creeks and precisely details how the Total Maximum Daily Load Team will respond to pollutants in the water.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is required to regularly identify water bodies in Texas that do not support their designated uses. Human contact recreation impairment due to elevated levels of fecal indicator bacteria is the most common water quality impairment in Texas. The following four Austin creeks (shown in Figure 1) have been identified as having fecal bacteria levels higher than allowed under the contact recreation category of use assigned to them, in all or parts of their reaches: • Walnut Creek, • Spicewood Tributary (also known as Foster Branch) to Shoal Creek, • Waller Creek, and • Taylor Slough South. The Clean Water Act requires the TCEQ to develop a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for these streams because they do not support their designated uses. The TMDLs are the calculation of the maximum amount of fecal bacteria pollution that these water bodies can receive and still safely meet state water quality standards. The City of Austin requested the TCEQ to develop both a TMDL and to initiate an Implementation Plan (I-Plan) process for these four creeks. A Coordination Committee was formed with public input to guide development of the I-Plan simultaneously with the TCEQ’s development of the TMDL. The Coordination Committee established as its goal “to develop and implement strategies to reduce fecal contamination such that the affected watersheds fully meet the contact recreation water quality standard.” This I-Plan recommends five sets of voluntary management measures to reduce nonpoint source fecal bacterial contamination in these four water bodies, relating to: 1. Riparian zone restoration. Natural riparian buffer areas can reduce instream E. coli bacteria concentrations when stormwater runoff is diverted through them prior to discharge into the receiving water. Urbanization has caused a degradation of some of Austin’s riparian buffer zones. The restoration and enhancement of functional riparian buffers is a primary strategy in this I-Plan to reduce E. coli bacteria concentrations in these streams and citywide. ??Figure 1. Map of watersheds in Austin listed as impaired for contact recreation by the TCEQ. 2. Wastewater infrastructure, focusing on: a. failing on-site sewage facilities or systems which do not meet capacity requirements; b. inspection and repair of wastewater collection lines; c. response to sanitary sewer overflows; d. reducing contamination from failing private laterals through inspection initiated by backups, stoppage or overflows, and legal requirements on property owners to ensure repair of private laterals, including a lien program; e. providing public toilets to reduce fecal contamination from human outdoor defecation 3. Domestic pet waste. Uncollected domestic pet waste is a significant contributor to fecal contamination in streams. Public education may be an effective tool at reducing the fecal bacteria contamination from domestic pets. This I-Plan focuses on reducing contamination from dog waste in parks and public areas through education, installation of pet waste collection bag dispensers and educational kiosks, and efforts to educate commercial and nonprofit organizations to encourage distribution of educational materials to their customers. 4. Resident outreach. Positive actions by area residents are essential to improve the quality of Austin streams. The I-Plan educational efforts are designed to let Austin residents, including neighborhood groups, school children, and the homeless, know how they can make a difference. 5. Stormwater treatment. Stormwater runoff is the dominant mechanism by which nonpoint source fecal loads are transported to receiving waters. Management of stormwater to reduce bacteria can be achieved with non-structural best management practices (BMPs) like riparian zone enhancement or preservation, or with structural BMPs like sedimentation/filtration basins. The total TMDL for all watersheds combined is 2.2x1011 MPN/day. In total, the proposed management measures included in this I-Plan are estimated to result in a reduction of E. coli 3.7x1016 MPN/day. Although tracking the progress of the proposed management measures over time in coordination with monitoring the improvement in instream fecal indicator bacteria will be necessary to determine if the I-Plan achieves the stated goal, this I-Plan appears to achieve the load reduction of the TMDL. In addition to these four streams, City of Austin Watershed Protection Department monitoring has identified a wider range of watersheds in Austin that have levels of fecal indicator bacteria above State of Texas long-term standards (Figure 2), but which technically do not come within this TMDL process. The City plans to use appropriate strategies developed in this I-Plan effort for improving all streams in Austin.Waller Creek Working Grou

New onset diabetes after kidney transplantation in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease: systematic review protocol

Introduction: Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common inherited kidney disorder with numerous cysts developing in bilateral kidneys. Meanwhile, ADPKD can also be regarded as a systemic disease because the cystic and non-cystic abnormalities could be identified in multiple organs in patients with ADPKD. Several lines of evidence suggest the risk of post-transplant diabetes mellitus or new-onset diabetes after transplantation (NODAT) is higher in patients with ADPKD compared with non-ADPKD renal recipients, but the available results are conflicting. We describe the protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis for investigating the risk of NODAT in patients with ADPKD. Methods and analysis: PubMed, EMBASE and The Cochrane Library will be searched. Cohort studies irrespective of language and publication status, comparing the incidence of NODAT in renal recipients with ADPKD and other kidney disease will be eligible. We will assess heterogeneity among studies. Along with 95% CIs, dichotomous data will be summarised as risk ratios; numbers needed to treat/harm and continuous data will be given as standard mean differences. Excluding outliers and testing small sample size studies if our results are robust, sensitivity analysis will be carried out. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval is not required because this study includes no confidential personal data or patient interventions. The review findings will be helpful in designing and implementing future studies and will be of interest to a wide range of readers, including healthcare professionals, researchers, health service managers and policymakers. The systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and disseminated electronically and in print

Strategies for assessing renal function prior to outpatient contrast-enhanced CT: a UK survey

YesThe purpose of this paper is to identify current UK screening practices prior to contrast-enhanced CT. To determine the patient management strategies to minimize the risk of contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) risk in outpatients. An invitation to complete an electronic survey was distributed to the CT managers of 174 UK adult National Health Service hospital trusts. The survey included questions related to local protocols and national guidance on which these are based. Details of the assessment of renal function prior to imaging and thresholds for contrast contraindication and patient management were also sought. A response rate of 47.1% was received. Almost all sites had a policy in place for contrast administration (n = 80/82; 97.6%). The majority of sites require a blood test on outpatients undergoing a contrast-enhanced CT scan (n = 75/82; 91.5%); however, some (15/75; 20.0%) sites only check the result in patients at high risk and a small number (7/82; 8.5%) of sites indicated that it was a referrer responsibility. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) or serum creatinine (SCr) result threshold at which i.v. contrast was contraindicated varied and 19 different threshold levels of eGFR or SCr were identified, each leading to different prophylactic strategies. Inconsistency was noted in the provision of follow-up blood tests after contrast administration. The wide variation in practice reflects inconsistencies in published guidance. Evidence-based consensuses of which patients to test and subsequent risk thresholds will aid clinicians identify those patients in which the risk of CI-AKI is clinically significant but manageable. There is also a need to determine the value of the various prophylactic strategies, follow-up regimen and efficient service delivery pathways. This survey has identified that further work is required to define which patients are high risk, confirm those which require renal function testing prior to contrast administration and how best to manage patients at risk of CI-AKI. The role of new technologies within this service delivery pathway requires further investigation

Impact of intravenous fluid composition on outcomes in patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome

Introduction: Intravenous (IV) fluids may be associated with complications not often attributed to fluid type. Fluids with high chloride concentrations such as 0.9 % saline have been associated with adverse outcomes in surgery and critical care. Understanding the association between fluid type and outcomes in general hospitalized patients may inform selection of fluid type in clinical practice. We sought to determine if the type of IV fluid administered to patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is associated with outcome. Methods: This was a propensity-matched cohort study in hospitalized patients receiving at least 500 mL IV crystalloid within 48 hours of SIRS. Patient data was extracted from a large multi-hospital electronic health record database between January 1, 2009, and March 31, 2013. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included length of stay, readmission, and complications measured by ICD-9 coding and clinical definitions. Outcomes were adjusted for illness severity using the Acute Physiology Score. Of the 91,069 patients meeting inclusion criteria, 89,363 (98 %) received 0.9 % saline whereas 1706 (2 %) received a calcium-free balanced solution as the primary fluid. Results: There were 3116 well-matched patients, 1558 in each cohort. In comparison with the calcium-free balanced cohort, the saline cohort experienced greater in-hospital mortality (3.27 % vs. 1.03 %, P <0.001), length of stay (4.87 vs. 4.38 days, P = 0.016), frequency of readmission at 60 (13.54 vs. 10.91, P = 0.025) and 90 days (16.56 vs. 12.58, P = 0.002) and frequency of cardiac, infectious, and coagulopathy complications (all P <0.002). Outcomes were defined by administrative coding and clinically were internally consistent. Patients in the saline cohort received more chloride and had electrolyte abnormalities requiring replacement more frequently (P <0.001). No differences were found in acute renal failure. Conclusions: In this large electronic health record, the predominant use of 0.9 % saline in patients with SIRS was associated with significantly greater morbidity and mortality compared with predominant use of balanced fluids. The signal is consistent with that reported previously in perioperative and critical care patients. Given the large population of hospitalized patients receiving IV fluids, these differences may confer treatment implications and warrant corroboration via large clinical trials. Trial registration: NCT02083198 clinicaltrials.gov; March 5, 201

Risk of acute kidney injury and survival in patients treated with Metformin:an observational cohort study

Background: Whether metformin precipitates lactic acidosis in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains under debate. We examined whether metformin use was associated with an increased risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) as a proxy for lactic acidosis and whether survival among those with AKI varied by metformin exposure. Methods: All individuals with type 2 diabetes and available prescribing data between 2004 and 2013 in Tayside, Scotland were included. The electronic health record for diabetes which includes issued prescriptions was linked to laboratory biochemistry, hospital admission, death register and Scottish Renal Registry data. AKI events were defined using the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes criteria with a rise in serum creatinine of at least 26.5 μmol/l or a rise of greater than 150% from baseline for all hospital admissions. Cox Regression Analyses were used to examine whether person-time periods in which current metformin exposure occurred were associated with an increased rate of first AKI compared to unexposed periods. Cox regression was also used to compare 28 day survival rates following first AKI events in those exposed to metformin versus those not exposed. Results: Twenty-five thousand one-hundred fourty-eight patients were included with a total person-time of 126,904 person years. 4944 (19.7%) people had at least one episode of AKI during the study period. There were 32.4 cases of first AKI/1000pyrs in current metformin exposed person-time periods compared to 44.9 cases/1000pyrs in unexposed periods. After adjustment for age, sex, diabetes duration, calendar time, number of diabetes drugs and baseline renal function, current metformin use was not associated with AKI incidence, HR 0.94 (95% CI 0.87, 1.02, p = 0.15). Among those with incident AKI, being on metformin at admission was associated with a higher rate of survival at 28 days (HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.69, 0.94, p = 0.006) even after adjustment for age, sex, pre-admission eGFR, HbA1c and diabetes duration. Conclusions: Contrary to common perceptions, we found no evidence that metformin increases incidence of AKI and was associated with higher 28 day survival following incident AKI