Monaghanfunch5408

C3 Glomerulonephritis (C3GN) is a rare disease with an estimated incidence of 1-2 cases per million, caused by an alteration in the alternative complement pathway, although its complete physiopathology remains uncertain. Treatment evidence is poor. Immunosuppressive therapy can be initiated in more severe cases. Progression rates to end stage kidney disease are of up to 50% within a decade, and the posttransplant recurrence rates of 45-60%. We describe the case of a young man without any past medical history, with lower extremities edema, dyspnea, and kidney function deterioration. The patient was ultimately diagnosed with C3GN.Lithium is the milestone of psychiatric patients' therapy, in particular in bipolar disorder. Despite its high therapeutic efficacy, there are several side effects (renal, thyroid, parathyroid, dermatological) and management problems linked to its narrow therapeutic range, which exposes patients to a high risk of toxicity. We describe the case of a male patient with bipolar disorder in therapy with lithium sulfate who developed a severe acute-on-chronic intoxication. He came to our attention in a somnolent state with lithemia >3 mEq/L and therefore underwent hemodialysis. In view of the high toxicity of lithium, a timely and correct therapeutic choice is important to improve the patient's outcome. In this context, considering lithemia, but also kidney function and the patient's clinical status, it is necessary to consider extracorporeal treatments, of which hemodialysis is the most preferable.Acute flaccid paralysis is a medical emergency that may be caused by primary neuro-muscular disorders, metabolic alterations, and iatrogenic effects. Severe hyperkalemia is also a potential cause, especially in elderly patients with impaired renal function. Early diagnosis is essential for appropriate management. Here, we report the case of a 78-year-old woman with hypertension and diabetes presenting to the emergency department because of pronounced asthenia, rapidly evolving in quadriparesis. Laboratory examinations showed severe hyperkalemia of 9.9 mmol/L, metabolic acidosis, kidney failure (creatinine 1.6 mg/dl), and hyperglycemia (501 mg/dl). The electrocardiography showed absent P-wave, widening QRS, and tall T-waves. The patient was immediately treated with medical therapy and a hemodialysis session, presenting a rapid resolution of electrocardiographic and neurological abnormalities. This case offers the opportunity to discuss the pathogenesis, the clinical presentation, and the management of hyperkalemia-induced acute flaccid paralysis.Multiple myeloma represents one of the main universal oncological diseases. Due to its clinical characteristics, it is often diagnosed only too late, when it has already determined systemic effects; this results in greater therapeutic difficulty and worse prognostic results. Through the clinical case discussed in this article, we want to focus on the often aspecific manifestations of this pathology and on the need for a correct clinical and diagnostic framework. The main renal manifestations secondary to the deposition of immunoglobulins in both the glomerular and tubular areas will also be examined.Despite the many potential benefits of peritoneal dialysis (PD), the percentage of dialysis patients treated with PD is around 10% worldwide. Up to 70% of the subjects who progress to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) start dialysis without a well-defined therapy plan. Most of these patients are unaware of having chronic kidney disease, while others with stable CKD incur in unpredictable and acute worsening of kidney function. As a matter of fact, 80% of incident HD patients start dialysis with a central venous catheter (CVC) even though starting HD with a CVC is independently associated with increased mortality, high rates of bacteremia, and increased hospitalization rates. Thus, PD is an excellent but underused mode of dialysis. Offering it to patients who present late to dialysis therapy, due to uremic state or hypervolemia, may help increase its application in the future. This approach has been recently denominated "urgent-start peritoneal dialysis" (UPD). Based on the break-in period, it is possible to differentiate UPD from "early-start peritoneal dialysis" (EPD). The outcome of UPD depends on the right selection of patients, the appropriate placement of the catheter and the adequate education of the nursing and medical staff. Moreover, using modified catheter insertion technique aimed at creating a tight seal between the inner cuff and the abdominal tissues, as well as employing protocols that use low-volume exchanges in a supine posture, could minimize the occurrence of early mechanical complications. Although the probability of mechanical complications is higher in early-start PD patients, UPD/EPD show a mortality rate, a PD survival and an infectious complication rate comparable with conventional PD. In comparison to urgent-start hemodialysis via a CVC, UPD can be a safe and cost-effective alternative that decreases the incidences of catheter-related bloodstream infections and hemodialysis-related complications. Furthermore, UPD can promote the diffusion of PD.Primary hyperoxaluria type 1 is a rare genetic disease; the onset of symptoms ranges from childhood to the sixth decade of life and the disease may go unrecognized for several years. There is an urgent need for drugs able to inhibit the liver production of oxalate and to prevent the disease progression; lumasiran, an innovative molecule based on RNAi interference, is one of the most promising drugs. A group of leading Italian experts on this disease met to respond to some unmet medical needs (early diagnosis, availability of genetic tests and dosage of plasma oxalate, timing of liver transplantation, need for etiologic treatment), based on the analysis of the main scientific evidence and their personal experience. Children showing the characteristic symptoms of the disease usually undergo a metabolic screening and obtain an early diagnosis, while the experience is very limited in adults and the diagnosis difficult. It is therefore essential to increase the knowledge around this disease and the importance of metabolic and genetic screening to define a checklist of shared clinical and laboratory criteria and to establish a multidisciplinary management of potential patients. Oxalate is the cause of the disease it is crucial to reduce both oxaluria and oxalemia through appropriate therapeutic strategies, able to prevent and/or reduce renal and systemic complications of primary type 1 hyperoxaluria. Lumasiran allows to significantly reduce the levels of oxalate both in blood and in urine, halting the course of the disease and preventing serious renal and systemic complications, if the therapy is started at an early stage of the disease.The public emergency caused by Covid-19 has forced health services to reorganize in order to separate positive patients from negative ones. In nephrology, this reorganization involves several levels of assistance concerning hospitalizations, ambulatory care and haemodialysis. Within the Complex Unit of Nephrology in Ragusa, the distribution of nephro-dialytic resources has involved four different hospitals, hence ensuring haemodialysis services for asymptomatic and pauci-symptomatic Covid-19 patients as well as for patients in Covid-Unit, Sub-Intensive Therapy and Intensive Care Unit. In this complex context, we had to create a common protocol involving all the professionals who provide assistance in our Unit, across the different structures. KC7F2 nmr We also report some encouraging data that seem to indicate the effectiveness of the protocols put in place.The new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic in Italy formally started on 21st February 2020, when a 38-years old man was established as the first Italian citizen with Covid-19 in Codogno, Lombardy region. In a few days, the deadly coronavirus swept beyond expectations across the city of Bergamo and its province, claiming thousands of lives and putting the hospital in Treviglio under considerable strain. Since designated Covid-dialysis hospitals to centrally manage infected hemodialysis patients were not set up in the epidemic areas, we arranged to treat all our patients. We describe the multiple strategies we had to implement fast to prevent/control Covid-19 infection and spread resources in our Dialysis Unit during the first surge of the pandemic in one of the worst-hit areas in Italy. The recommendations provided by existing guidelines and colleagues with significant experience in dealing with Covid-19 were combined with the practical judgement of our dialysis clinicians, nurses and nurse's aides.The SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) has infected about 124 million people worldwide and the total amount of casualties now sits at a staggering 2.7 million. One enigmatic aspect of this disease is the protean nature of the clinical manifestations, ranging from total absence of symptoms to extremely severe cases with multiorgan failure and death. Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) has emerged as the primary risk factor in the most severe patients, apart from age. Kidney disease and acute kidney injury have been correlated with a higher risk of death. Notably the Italian Society of Nephrology have reported a 10-fold increase in mortality in patients undergoing dialysis compared to the rest of the population, especially during the second phase of the pandemic (26% vs 2.4). These dramatic numbers require an immediate response. At the moment of writing, three Covid-19 vaccines are being administered already , two of which, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, share the same mRNA mechanism and Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) based on a more traditional approach. All of them are completely safe and reliable. The AIFA scientific commission has suggested that the mRNA vaccines should be administered to older and more fragile patients, while the Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) vaccine should be reserved for younger subjects above the age of 18. The near future looks bright there are tens of other vaccines undergoing clinical and preclinical validation, whose preliminary results look promising. The high mortality of CKD and dialysis patients contracting Covid-19 should mandate top priority for their vaccination.Hyperphosphoremia is common in patients with chronic kidney disease and is an important risk factor in this patient population. Phosphate binding drugs are a key therapeutic strategy to reduce phosphoremia levels, although they have significant side effects especially in the gastrointestinal tract, such as gastritis, diarrhoea and constipation. We report the case of a haemodialysis-dependent patient suffering from chronic kidney disease stage V KDIGO secondary to polycystic autosomal dominant disease; treated with phosphate binders, the case was complicated by the appearance of diverticulosis, evolved into acute diverticulitis.Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associating persistent communication and social interaction deficits with behaviors, interests or activities of a restricted and repetitive nature. The etiology of ASD is not yet fully understood but appears to be multifactorial, including both genetic and environmental factors. The concept of autism underwent a major evolution before arriving at the current definition in DSM-5. The diagnosis has two parts a categorical from cut-off and differential diagnosis established from a specification of the category by dimensional variables (intelligence, language, associated diseases, adaptation). These two parts (categorical diagnosis and specifiers) are complementary but pose a certain number of practical problems in establishing the diagnosis in adulthood.