Citations

Abstract Serum albumin is a marker of nutritional and frailty status. This study aimed to assess the association between serum albumin at the time of admission and the risk of acute respiratory failure (ARF) in hospitalized patients This cohort study, performed at a tertiary referral hospital, included all hospitalized adult patients from January 2009 to December 2013 who had serum albumin measurement and were not on mechanical ventilation within 24 hours of hospital admission. Serum albumin was stratified into 2.4, 2.5 to 2.9, 3.0 to 3.4, 3.5 to 3.9, 4.0 to 4.4, and ≥4.5 g/dL. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to obtain adjusted odds ratio (OR) of risk of ARF requiring mechanical ventilation based on various admission serum albumin levels. Of 12,719 patients, ARF requiring mechanical ventilation occurred in 1128 (8.9%) during hospitalization. Hypoalbuminemia was associated with increased risk of ARF, in particular when serum albumin was ≤2.4 g/dL. Compared with serum albumin of 4.0–4.4 g/dL, serum albumin ≤2.4 g/dL at admission was associated with 2.38-time higher odds of ARF during hospitalization (OR 2.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.84–3.07). In contrast, elevated serum albumin ≥4.5 g/dL was associated with lower odds of ARF (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.48–0.97). Admission serum albumin level lower than 3.5 g/dL was associated with a higher risk of ARF requiring mechanical ventilation, whereas elevated serum albumin level at least 4.5 g/dL was associated with a lower risk of ARF. Therefore, admission albumin level at admission might be useful in the prediction of ARF during hospitalization.

AbstractBackgroundWhile acute kidney injury (AKI) is commonly reported following hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT), the incidence and impact of AKI on mortality among patients undergoing HCT are not well described. We conducted this systematic review to assess the incidence and impact of AKI on mortality risk among patients undergoing HCT.MethodsOvid MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Databases were searched from database inceptions through August 2019 to identify studies assessing the incidence of AKI and mortality risk among adult patients who developed AKI following HCT. Random-effects and generic inverse variance method of DerSimonian–Laird were used to combine the effect estimates obtained from individual studies.ResultsWe included 36 cohort studies with a total of 5144 patients undergoing HCT. Overall, the pooled estimated incidence of AKI and severe AKI (AKI Stage III) were 55.1% (95% confidence interval (CI) 46.6–63.3%) and 8.3% (95% CI 6.0–11.4%), respectively. The pooled estimated incidence of AKI using contemporary AKI definitions (RIFLE, AKIN and KDIGO criteria) was 49.8% (95% CI 41.6–58.1%). There was no significant correlation between study year and the incidence of AKI (P = 0.12) or severe AKI (P = 0.97). The pooled odds ratios of 3-month mortality and 3-year mortality among patients undergoing HCT with AKI were 3.05 (95% CI 2.07–4.49) and 2.23 (95% CI 1.06–4.73), respectively.ConclusionThe incidence of AKI among patients who undergo HCT remains high, and it has not changed over the years despite advances in medicine. AKI after HCT is associated with increased short- and long-term mortality.

AbstractBackgroundThe objective of this meta‐analysis of observational studies was to evaluate the efficacy and safety profiles of febuxostat in treating hyperuricemia among kidney transplant patients.MethodsWe conducted electronic searches in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from January 1960 to July 2019 to identify studies that investigated the effects of febuxostat in kidney transplant patients on uric acid as well as safety profiles including estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), hemoglobin level (Hb), white blood cell counts (WBC), liver enzymes, and trough level of tacrolimus.ResultsSeven observational studies with 367 participants were included in this meta‐analysis. Compared with allopurinol, the febuxostat group demonstrated a higher odds of achieving target uric acid levels lower than 6 mg/dL within 12 months (OR = 2.9, P = .004). However, there was no statistical difference in change of uric acid (WMD = −1.0 mg/dL/y, P = .32) and change in allograft eGFR within a year (WMD = 0.01 mL/min/1.73 m2/y, P = .98) between febuxostat and allopurinol. Regarding safety profiles, there were no statistical differences in eGFR, Hb, WBC, liver enzymes (AST, ALT), and trough level of tacrolimus between baseline and at the study end. Only one study reported suspected graft loss among febuxostat group.ConclusionAmong kidney transplant patients, treating hyperuricemia with febuxostat showed a higher odds of reaching the target of serum uric acid < 6 mg/dL compared with allopurinol without causing significant side effects including change in tacrolimus level, liver function, decline in renal graft function, and bone marrow function.

Background: Goodpasture’s syndrome is a rare, life-threatening, small vessel vasculitis. Given its rarity, data on its inpatient burden and resource utilization are lacking. We conducted this study aiming to assess inpatient prevalence, mortality, and resource utilization of Goodpasture’s syndrome in the United States. Methods: The 2003–2014 National Inpatient Sample was used to identify patients with a principal diagnosis of Goodpasture’s syndrome. The inpatient prevalence, clinical characteristics, in-hospital treatment, end-organ failure, mortality, length of hospital stay, and hospitalization cost were studied. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify independent factors associated with in-hospital mortality. Results: A total of 964 patients were admitted in hospital with Goodpasture’s syndrome as the principal diagnosis, accounting for an overall inpatient prevalence of Goodpasture’s syndrome among hospitalized patients in the United States of 10.3 cases per 1,000,000 admissions. The mean age of patients was 54 ± 21 years, and 47% were female; 52% required renal replacement therapy, whereas 39% received plasmapheresis during hospitalization. Furthermore, 78% had end-organ failure, with renal failure and respiratory failure being the two most common end-organ failures. The in-hospital mortality rate was 7.7 per 100 admissions. The factors associated with increased in-hospital mortality were age older than 70 years, sepsis, the development of respiratory failure, circulatory failure, renal failure, and liver failure, whereas the factors associated with decreased in-hospital mortality were more recent year of hospitalization and the use of therapeutic plasmapheresis. The median length of hospital stay was 10 days. The median hospitalization cost was $75,831. Conclusion: The inpatient prevalence of Goodpasture’s syndrome in the United States is 10.3 cases per 1,000,000 admissions. Hospitalization of patients with Goodpasture’s syndrome was associated with high hospital inpatient utilization and costs.

Abstract Objective To characterize inpatient epidemiology and economic burden of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA). Methods Patients with GPA were identified from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), the largest inpatient database in the USA consisting of over 4000 non-federal acute care hospitals, using the ICD-9 CM code. A cohort of comparators without GPA was also constructed from the same database. Data on demographics, procedures, length of stay, mortality, morbidity and total hospitalization charges were extracted. All analysed data were extracted from the database for the years 2005–2014. Results The inpatient prevalence of GPA was 32.6 cases per 100 000 admissions. GPA itself (38.3%), pneumonia (13.7%) and sepsis (8.4%) were the most common reasons for admission. After adjusting for potential confounders, the all-cause mortality adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of patients with GPA was significantly higher than that of patients without GPA (aOR 1.20; 95% CI: 1.41, 1.61). This was also true for several morbidities, including acute kidney injury, multi-organ failure, shock and need for intensive care unit admission. Hospitalizations of patients with GPA were associated with higher cost as demonstrated by an adjusted additional mean of $5125 (95% CI: $4719, $5531) for total hospital cost and an adjusted additional mean of $16 841 (95% CI: $15 280, $18 403) for total hospitalization charges when compared with patients without GPA. Conclusion Inpatient prevalence of GPA was higher than what would be expected from prevalence in the general population. Hospitalizations of patients with GPA were associated with higher morbidity, mortality and cost.

AbstractCurrently, the data on independent risk factors for the progression of kidney disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with CKD are limited. This study aimed to investigate CKD progression in T2DM patients who have reduced kidney function with baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFRs) between 15 and 59 mL/min/1.73 m2. This study was composed of a nationwide retrospective cohort of adult T2DM patients from 831 public hospitals in Thailand during the year 2015. T2DM patients with CKD stages 3 and 4 were followed up, until development of CKD stage 5, requirement of chronic dialysis, loss to follow‐up, death, or 31 May 2018, whichever came first. Cox proportional hazard regression was utilized for analysis. A total of 8464 participants were included; 30.4% were male. The mean age was 69 ± 10 years. The mean eGFR was 45 ± 11 mL/min/1.73 m2. The incidence of CKD stage 5 or the need for chronic dialysis was 16.4 per 1000 person‐years. The annual rate of eGFR decline during a mean follow‐up of 29 months was −2.3 mL/min/1.73 m2; 14.4% had a rapid decline in eGFR. The risk factors associated with progression to CKD stage 5 or the need for chronic dialysis were diabetes duration, systolic blood pressure, serum uric acid, albuminuria, and baseline eGFR. Conversely, older age and the use of renin‐angiotensin aldosterone system blockade were associated with decreased risks for rapid CKD progression and incidence CKD stage 5 or dialysis. This study identifies multiple predictive risk factors that support a multifaceted approach to prevent progression of advanced CKD.

AbstractBackgroundWe aimed to assess the association between alterations in serum chloride levels during hospitalisation and mortality.MethodsWe reviewed all adult patients admitted to our hospital from the year 2009 to 2013, who had at least two serum chloride measurements during hospitalisation. The serum chloride change during hospitalisation, defined as the absolute difference between the highest and lowest serum chloride levels, was categorised into seven groups; 0–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10, 11–12 and ≥13 mEq/L. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess the independent association between serum chloride change and in-hospital mortality, using the serum chloride change of 0–2 mEq/L as the reference group.ResultsA total of 57 880 patients, with median serum chloride change of 5 (IQR 3–9) mEq/L, were studied. The in-hospital mortality was progressively increased with larger chloride change, from 0.6% in group of 0–2 mEq/L to 5.9% in group of ≥13 mEq/L (p&lt;0.001). In adjusted analysis, serum chloride change of ≥7 mEq/L was significantly associated with increased in-hospital mortality. For upward trend, serum chloride change of ≥3 mEq/L was significantly associated with increased in-hospital mortality, whereas, for downward trend, serum chloride change was not consistently associated with in-hospital mortality.ConclusionAlterations in serum chloride during hospitalisation were associated with increased hospital mortality. The association was more prominent with upward than downward trend of serum chloride.