BACKGROUND: The study underscores the crucial yet often neglected issue of sexual dysfunction in haemodialysis patients. Despite nephrology nurses\'close relationships with patients, there is a significant communication gap on this topic. In China, limited research highlights the need for further study.
OBJECTIVE: To describe the perspectives of Chinese nephrology nurses on discussing sexual dysfunction with patients receiving haemodialysis.
METHODS: A qualitative descriptive study.
METHODS: Ten Chinese nephrology nurses from a tertiary public hospital in Guizhou province, China.
METHODS: Semistructured interviews were conducted using an interview guide. Qualitative content analysis approach was utilised in analysis.
RESULTS: There were five themes described: (1) lack of training in sexual education, as nephrology nurses described never being trained to manage patients\' sexual health issues; (2) discomfort when discussing sexual topics, Chinese nephrology nurses found the topic of sexual dysfunction embarrassing and avoided discussing it; (3) sexual dysfunction viewed as a nonurgent topic, nephrology nurses prioritise physical health to aid patient survival; (4) belief in physicians as ultimate care advisors, nephrology nurses believed that doctors should handle discussions on sexually related topics; and (5) lack of a suitable environment for discussing sexual dysfunction, nephrology nurses viewed sex as a private matter, inappropriate for discussion in a public unit.
CONCLUSIONS: The study identifies barriers to discussing sexual dysfunction in healthcare, including provider knowledge deficits, discomfort and lack of supportive environments. It recommends specialised training and conducive settings to improve communication in renal care. Future research should evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions.

BACKGROUND: Clinically-oriented outcome measures are increasingly being recognized as lacking in consideration of factors important to patients. There is an emerging move of guideline bodies advocating a more patient-centred approach. Aneurysms in autogenous arteriovenous fistula (AVF) can be considered unsightly and a constant reminder for patients of their dependence on dialysis. However, their impact on patient\'s perception has not previously been reported.
METHODS: Between April 2017-18, the Vascular Access Questionnaire (VAQ) was administered to prevalent haemodialysis patients across ten dialysis units via structured interviews, as part of a quality improvement project. Data for the subgroup of patients with aneurysmal AVF (categorised as per classification by Valenti et al.), were retrospectively evaluated and compared to the wider cohort.
RESULTS: Data were collected for 539 patients (median age: 66 years; 59% male), of whom 195 (36%) had aneurysmal AVF, with Type 2 morphology (cannulation site) being the most common (75%). Duration of AVF was found to be significantly associated with aneurysmal development, with estimated likelihoods of 11%, 43% and 61% after one, five and ten years, respectively. Interestingly, patients with diabetes had a significantly lower prevalence of aneurysmal development than those that were non-diabetic (25% vs. 43%, p < 0.001). Overall VAQ scores were not found to differ significantly by aneurysm status (p = 0.816) or across morphology types (p = 0.277). However, patients with aneurysmal AVF were significantly more concerned with the appearance of their AVF (p < 0.001) than the wider cohort. Despite this, patients with aneurysmal AVF gave significantly higher scores for satisfaction and ease of use and lower scores for bruising and clotting (p < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: Aneurysmal AVF are often cited as an important factor by patients for not proceeding with fistula formation. In this evaluation of patient reported experiences, those with aneurysmal AVF reported high satisfaction levels. This may help clinicians highlight positive patient reported outcomes of aneurysmal AVF during preprocedural consent processes.

The arteriovenous fistula (AVF) represents the favorite vascular access in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Because AVF is a guarantee of survival for these patients, proper surgical packing and a timely follow-up program is crucial. Although a good objective examination of the limb site of FAV provides useful information both in planning the fistula surgery and in its surveillance and monitoring, it is now well established that the advent of instrumental diagnostics (ultrasonography, digital angiography, Angio-TC, MRI) has contributed significantly to improving primary and secondary patency of FAV and early diagnosis of vascular access complications. In this area, clinical thermography, a noninvasive and nondestructive diagnostic technique for assessing minute surface temperature differences, has shown good potential for the assessment of AVF. In fact, thermographic analysis of a limb site of AVF shows an increase in temperature at the site of the anastomosis and along the course of the arterialized vein. In this article we report our experience on the use of thermography in preoperative evaluation and postoperative surgical packing of an AVF. Further studies could validate the use of clinical thermography as a diagnostic technique to be used in the field of hemodialysis vascular accesses.

OBJECTIVE: Diabetic nephropathy, vision loss and diabetic retinopathy (DR) are frequent comorbidities among individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D). The Retinopathy in People Currently On Renal Dialysis (RiPCORD) study sought to examine the epidemiology and risk of vision impairment (VI) and DR among a cohort of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians with T2D currently receiving haemodialysis for end-stage renal failure (ESRF).
METHODS: A total of 106 Indigenous and 109 non-Indigenous Australians were recruited in RiPCORD across five haemodialysis centres in urban and remote settings. Clinical assessments, questionnaires and medical record data determined the rates of ocular complications and risk factor profiles.
RESULTS: Prevalence rates include unilateral VI, 23.5 %; bilateral VI, 11.7 %; unilateral blindness, 14.2 %; and bilateral blindness, 3.7 %, with no significant differences between sub-cohorts (p=0.30). DR prevalence rates were 78.0 % among non-Indigenous Australians and 93.1 % among Indigenous Australians (p=<0.001). Non-Indigenous ethnicity (OR: 0.28) and pre-dialysis diastolic blood pressure (OR: 0.84 per 10-mmHg) were protective, while peripheral vascular disease (OR: 2.79) increased DR risk.
CONCLUSIONS: Ocular complications among individuals with T2D and ESRF are disproportionately high, especially for Indigenous Australians, and beyond what can be accounted for by risk factor variation. Findings suggest a need to improve screening and preventative efforts within this high-risk population group.

Depression is a common psychiatric disorder among patients undergoing maintenance haemodialysis (MHD). Depression may reportedly contribute to poor prognosis in several ways, including its effects on platelet function. We hypothesised that depression contributes to the occurrence of cardiocerebral vascular events (CCVE) and dysfunction of arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) in patients undergoing MHD through its effects on platelets. In this prospective cohort study, patients undergoing MHD were recruited and divided into depression and non-depression groups according to their Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) scores. The 286 enrolled patients had 103 occurrences of depressive symptoms (prevalence = 36.01%). Compared with the non-depression group, depression group had a significantly higher cumulative prevalence of CCVE and DAVF during follow-up. Cox regression analysis indicated that higher HAMD scores and lower plasma platelet distribution width (PDW) were common risk factors for CCVE and DAVF. Furthermore, HAMD scores were significantly negatively correlated with plasma PDW and was the main variable affecting changes in PDW, as indicated by multiple linear regression analysis. Depression may increase the risk of CCVE and DAVF in patients undergoing MHD by activating platelets. Plasma PDW may be a convenient indicator of platelet activation status and may predict the risk of CCVE and DAVF.

Herbaspirillum spp. is a common environmental bacterium usually found in soil, plant roots, and water. It is rarely associated with infection in immunocompromised patients, and rarely reported infections in immunocompetent patients. We report the first case of a Herbaspirillum huttiense bacteraemia in a non-neutropenic home haemodialysis patient. A 57-year-old male presented to our hospital with a 3-day history of malaise, fevers, rigours, and anorexia following dialysis through his central line. On examination, he was pyrexic (temperature 38.7°C) with splinter haemorrhages noted, but no other signs of infection were present. Blood cultures revealed a polymicrobial infection, with Serratia liquefaciens and Corynebacterium jeikeium isolated from the central line and Herbaspirillum sp. was isolated from both the central line and a peripheral culture. A later peripheral blood culture following central line removal isolated Herbaspirillum huttiense. Regular biological testing of his home water supply and dialysate detected no colony forming units of non-fermenting gram-negative bacilli. He was initially treated with ceftriaxone and vancomycin initially, followed by ertapenem and vancomycin. Intravenous antibiotics were ceased following 5 days after central line removal and he made an uneventful recovery.

暂无摘要。

Exogenous and endogenous advanced glycation end products (AGEs) contribute to the pathogenesis and progression of renal disease. This is a one-month controlled dietary counseling trial that restricts nutritional AGEs in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing haemodialysis (n = 22 participants in the intervention and n = 20 participants in the control group). Haematological, biochemical markers, the soluble form of the receptor for AGEs (sRAGE), and carboxymethyl lysine (CML) were measured at baseline and at follow-up. Mononuclear cells were isolated and the protein expression of RAGE and the inflammatory marker COX-2 was measured using Western immunoblotting. The intervention group presented a lower increase in CML compared to the control group (12.39% median change in the intervention vs. 69.34% in the control group, p = 0.013), while RAGE (% mean change -56.54 in the intervention vs. 46.51 in the control group, p < 0.001) and COX-2 (% mean change -37.76 in the intervention vs. 0.27 in the control group, p < 0.001) were reduced compared to the control group. sRAGE was reduced in both groups. In addition, HbA1c (at two months), total cholesterol, and triglycerides were reduced in the intervention versus the control group. The adoption of healthy cooking methods deserves further research as a possible way of modulating inflammatory markers in patients with CKD.

BACKGROUND: A significant number of patients require non-tunneled haemodialysis catheters (NTHCs) in the event of an urgent need for immediate haemodialysis in developing countries. Catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) are a major concern in haemodialysis, but there is a lack of local epidemiological data. This study aimed to determine the incidence of CRBSI, causative agents and associated risk factors in a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka.
METHODS: A prospective study was conducted at the dialysis unit of Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka from December 2019 to August 2020. Adult patients who had haemodialysis for the first time with NTHCs were included.
RESULTS: Of 149 dialysis patients (104-jugular vein and 45-femoral vein, mean age 58 ± 13.7 years, mean duration of catheterization 7.9 ± 3.4 days), the incidence of CRBSI was 13.58 per 1000 catheter days. Serum albumin levels, capillary blood sugar levels at admission, haemoglobin levels and duration of catheterization were significantly associated with CRBSI. Prescence of diabetes and patients with ESRD who started routine haemodialysis had a significantly higher risk of CRBSI. Gram-positive bacteria were the most common microorganisms associated with CRBSI (87.5%).
CONCLUSIONS: Our results show high rates of infection with temporary vascular catheters in Sri Lanka, mainly due to Gram-positive bacteria. Diabetes mellitus, duration of catheterisation, low serum albumin, haemoglobin level and CBS on admission were identified as significant risk factors for CRBSI. Management strategies tailored to specific centers should be established in the nation to optimise catheter care and to monitor local microbiology for appropriate empirical antimicrobial treatment.

UNASSIGNED: Haemodialysis (HD) patients are predisposed to physical ailments, and their occurrence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) could potentially lead to a more unfavourable prognosis. However, the impact of SARS-CoV-2 (Omicron variant) infection on the prognosis of HD patients remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the impact of Omicron variant infection on the prognosis of HD patients.
UNASSIGNED: Eligible participants were patients undergoing maintenance HD treatment during a large-scale outbreak of COVID-19 (Omicron variant) in Shanghai, China, from April 7 to May 30, 2022. According to SARS-CoV-2 infection status of participants, the HD patients were divided into two groups: a COVID-19 group and a non-COVID-19 group. The primary outcome assessed was in-hospital mortality, and secondary outcomes encompassed the incidence of severe cases, admission to intensive care, length of hospital stay, and blood indices. Statistical analysis was conducted by comparative analysis and multiple logistic regression.
UNASSIGNED: This study recruited 588 HD patients, including 199 cases in the COVID-19 group and 389 in the non-COVID-19 group. In the COVID-19 group, the mortality rate was 8.45% (17/199), whereas in the non-COVID-19 group, the rate was 3.34% (13/389) (p < 0.05). Compared with the non-COVID-19 group, the COVID-19 group had a risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) of 2.56 (1.27-5.15) for mortality, and the absolute risk difference (ARD) with 95% CI of 5.20% (1.34%-9.06%). Multiple logistic regression confirmed Omicron variant as a risk factor for mortality among HD patients. Additionally, the COVID-19 group had a higher proportion of severe cases, intensive care admission, hypocalcaemia and hyperphosphatemia and longer hospitalization duration, compared to the non-COVID-19 group (p < 0.05).
UNASSIGNED: Omicron variant infection was associated with increased mortality risk in HD patients, and Omicron infection worsen the prognosis of HD patients. Enhancing immune protection against SARS-CoV-2 is crucial for HD patients during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.