Expert Commentary - Renal and Urology News

Commentary

Let Patients Sleep During Rounds

Kamyar Kalantar-Zadeh, MD, MPH, PhD February 01, 2012

How often do you face with the unpleasant task of waking a sleeping patient during your busy rounds? It happens frequently to many clinicians during their inpatient rounds in the hospital.

Highlights of 2011, The Promise of 2012

Anthony Bleyer, MD January 01, 2012

The start of 2012 is a good time to look back on the previous year to see the current state of nephrology. What have been the important findings that occurred in the past year, and what do we have to look forward to in the year ahead?

Dialysis Care in the Post-Bundling Era

Jody A. Charnow December 01, 2011

For the ninth straight year, I came away from Kidney Week (formerly Renal Week), the annual scientific meeting of the American Society of Nephrology, feeling badly that Renal & Urology News can only report on a fraction of the thousands of studies presented at the meeting.

Kidney Stone Prevention: 'Fact versus Fiction'

Mark Finger, MD November 21, 2011

According to current estimates, kidney stones will develop in one in 10 people during their lifetime. This translates into nearly 30 million people in the United States. Clearly, prevention is paramount when dealing with kidney stones.

ACOs and Productivity Metrics in Medicine

Robert G. Uzzo, MD, FACS November 01, 2011

Individuals, businesses and nations grapple with how to measure success. Are similar productivity measures warranted in medicine?

Some Thoughts on Patient Education

Jody A. Charnow October 11, 2011

Physicians are indeed spending less face time with patients, according to studies and to what doctors have told me in conversation. One consequence of this could less time to educate patients about their illness.

High BMI and Kidney Transplant Waitlisting

Kamyar Kalantar-Zadeh, MD, MPH, PhD October 11, 2011

Many obese dialysis patients are asked to lose weight to qualify for kidney transplantation. If such usual weight reduction programs as dieting or anti-appetite medications do not work, some patients will be introduced to more aggressive interventions such as bariatric surgery.

Should We Start Dialysis As Late As Possible?

Kamyar Kalantar-Zadeh, MD, MPH, PhD August 15, 2011

Traditional nephrology training makes us believe that it is good practice to start maintenance dialysis therapy sooner rather than later. Nevertheless, recent data indicate that we may encounter yet another "old-practice-was-wrong" paradigm shift.

Kidney Cancer vs. ESRD

Marc C. Smaldone, MD, Robert G. Uzzo, MD July 19, 2011

Incidentally detected renal tumors are increasingly diagnosed in patients with chronic kidney disease. Traditionally, localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has been treated surgically, but concerns that nephrectomy is associated with the sequelae of CKD, including increased cardiovascular risk and shortened overall survival, have resulted in the increased use of nephron-sparing procedures.

CKD Stage 3 Needs To Be Redefined

Kamyar Kalantar-Zadeh, MD, MPH, PhD April 18, 2011

Nephrologists should rethink the screening level and offer a more conservative and meaningful cutoff level, such as an eGFR of 45.

Are All Acute Kidney Injuries "Acute on Chronic"?

Kamyar Kalantar-Zadeh, MD, MPH, PhD March 14, 2011

Practicing nephrologists are frequently consulted to evaluate acute kidney injury (AKI) as inpatient cases. Some of these patients require temporary dialysis treatment during hospitalization, and some are discharged while dialysis therapy continues for a while.

The Pros and Cons of Interventional Nephrology

Anil K. Agarwal, MD November 11, 2010

The advantages of this emerging specialty are clear to those involved in vascular access care, but some potential downsides must be considered.

Nephrology In Canada Is Well Supported

Adeera Levin, MD June 10, 2010

Many Americans harbor fears about the Canadian health care system, and I would like to clear up some misconceptions. A fundamental premise of the system is that all Canadians are entitled to health care as a right, not a privilege.

A Call to Service For Nephrologists

Lynda Anne Szczech, MD, MSCE April 26, 2010

The pending legislation on health care reform can be polarizing, but the motivation supporting it is not. Operating under the assumption that use of preventative and therapeutic health care services improves outcomes, it is hard to imagine who, in the medical community, would not favor improved health care access and utilization for those who are uninsured.

Renin Mutations As a Cause of Inherited Interstitial Kidney Disease

Anthony Bleyer, MD April 01, 2010

An international research team led by Stan Kmoch, PhD, of the Center for Applied Genomics and Institute for Inherited Metabolic Disorders of Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, have identified a number of families suffering from a mutation in the signal peptide of the renin gene that lead to the development of autosomal dominant CKD.

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Our exclusive coverage of Kidney Week 2011 in Philadelphia includes interviews, videos and noteworthy clinical reports.

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Expert Q&A

The Lowdown on HIFU: An Interview with David Y.T. Chen, MD, FACS

Renal & Urology News asked urologic oncologist David Y.T. Chen, MD, FACS of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia about his impressions of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) as an investigator in a trial featuring the treatment.

On The Forefront

Boosting Renal Transplantation with Kidney Paired Donation

In the past five to 10 years, researchers have developed several techniques to overcome donor incompatibility, including paired donation. The following case illustrates the collaborative efforts between nephrologists and urologists at the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute.