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April 2008 7 4 Issue of Renal And Urology News

Cover Articles

Men Take PCa Diagnosis Hard

SAN FRANCISCO—Men recently diagnosed with prostate cancer are at elevated risk of cardiovascular death and suicide, according to separate analyses of a cohort of Swedish ...

PD Catheter Removal Lowers Death Rate

ORLANDO—Patients with gram-negative peritonitis (GNP) undergoing early catheter removal have a higher rate of permanent transfer to hemodialysis but a lower death rate compared with ...

Cryoablation Promising for Renal Tumors

WASHINGTON D.C—CT-guided percutaneous cryoablation of renal tumors appears to be a viable option for the treatment of selected small renal cell tumors, according to new ...

Commentary

The Guideline Disconnect

Most physicians in this country provide patient care in busy private practice offices or non-teaching hospitals. Practicing physicians often try to adhere to relevant guidelines ...

News in Brief

BP Surges Occur During TUMT

BP surges occur in many men undergoing transurethral microwave therapy (TUMT) for BPH, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

CKD Stats in Beijing

The prevalence of CKD among adults in Beijing, China is 13%, according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases (2008;51:373-384).

World Literature Review

Repeat PSA Tests May Aid Prostate Biopsy Decisions

Following an initial PSA test result of 3.0-19.99 ng/mL in men aged 50-70 years, a repeat PSA test within seven weeks allows for more accurate ...

Renal Graft Survival Similar in Elderly, Younger Patients

Renal transplant recipients have similar death-censored graft survival regardless of age, according to researchers in Norway.

Enteric-Coated Mycophenolate Sodium for Lupus Nephritis

Enteric-coated mycophenolate sodium is effective and well-tolerated in patients with active lupus nephritis, Hong Kong researchers report.

FDA News

Single-Pill Combo to Manage High Cholesterol Approved

Simcor (Niaspan/simvastatin), the first fixed-dose combination of two widely prescribed cholesterol therapies, has been approved for use along with diet to lower levels of elevated ...

Filing for New Anemia Treatment in CKD Patients Accepted

AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., has announced that the FDA has accepted for standard review its New Drug Application (NDA) for ferumoxytol as an ...

Blood-Thinning Drug Linked to Severe Allergic Reactions

The FDA announced that Baxter Healthcare Corporation, of Deerfield, Ill., has temporarily stopped manufacturing multiple-dose vials of heparin due to reports of severe allergic reactions ...

Agency to Consider Silodosin to Treat BPH

The FDA has accepted a New Drug Application for silodosin, a novel alpha1-adrenoreceptor antagonist, from Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., of Corona, Calif. Watson is seeking approval ...

Legal Issues

Urologist Sued by Patient Mum about His Diabetes

Dr. U, 41, was a sole urologist in a small community in the Midwest. He'd been in private practice for only two years, but he ...

Malpractice News

Report: Surgery Protocols Work

Current protocols can prevent many wrong-site surgeries if they are properly followed, a Pennsylvania watchdog agency reports.

Confidentiality Plan Moves Forward

A network of organizations that will collect and analyze data on medical errors and "near-misses" while protecting physician and patient confidentiality may be in place ...

AMA: Damage Caps Keep Lid on Premiums

Laws that limit certain damage awards in malpractice cases are limiting insurance premiums, too.

Renal Nutrition Update

Hyperkalemia Control in Stage 5 CKD

Unable to excrete excess potassium, most dialysis patients must adjust their intake.

Your Money

Investing: Which Way Should You Turn?

It is a troubling time for investors, with both the economy and the stock market seemingly in a relentless decline. Many investors are fleeing the ...

General News

Flu Shots Safe And Effective For Transplant Patients

Influenza vaccination is safe and effective for renal transplant patients, according to European researchers.

DaVita Offers Dialysis Diet Web Tool

DaVita Inc., has launched DaVita Diet Helper to make kidney-friendly meals easy to plan, prepare, and track.

Urine Uric Acid Does Not Hike Stone Risk

New findings challenge a prevailing belief that higher urine uric acid excretion increases the risk for calcium oxalate stone formation, according to researchers.

Transplants A Good Option For Seniors

Renal transplantation is a good option for renal replacement therapy among patients older than 60 years, Iranian researchers report in Transplantation Proceedings (2008;40:238-239).

Long Nocturnal Hemodialysis Superior

ORLANDO—Patients who switched from short daily hemodialysis (SDHD) to nocturnal daily hemodialysis (NDHD) say they experienced improved quality of life with a more normal lifestyle, ...

Accuracy of HbA1c Test Challenged

The gold standard for measuring glucose control, the hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test, may be inaccurate in diabetic patients on hemodialysis, according to a new study.

Antibiotics May Fail To Lower PSA

Long-term antibiotic therapy for men with biopsy-proven asymptomatic prostatitis may not significantly alter elevated PSA levels, data show.

Aortic Stiffness Linked to Donor Age

Transplantation of kidneys from older donors is followed by increased stiffening of the recipient's aorta, which may help to explain the higher rates of CVD ...

N -Acetylcysteine is Renoprotective

A recent meta-analysis supports administration of N-acetylcysteine prophylaxis to prevent contrast-induced nephropathy, especially in high-risk patients. Researchers also noted that the drug is inexpensive and ...

AVFs Better for Elderly Hemodialysis Patients

ORLANDO—Arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) should be the preferred vascular access in elderly hemodialysis (HD) patients, researchers reported at the 2008 Annual Dialysis Conference.

Bladder Cancer Worse in Renal Transplant, ESRD Patients

SAN FRANCISCO—Renal transplant recipients and non-transplant patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who develop bladder cancer have more extensive disease distribution at diagnosis than bladder ...

ECD Graft Survival Improves Markedly

The survival of expanded criteria donor (ECD) kidneys has improved markedly since 1996, according to a recent study published in Clinical Transplantation (2008; published online ...

Statins Reduce Bladder Cancer Progression Risk

SAN FRANCISCO—Statin use may decrease the likelihood that superficial bladder cancer will progress to muscle-invasive disease requiring cystectomy, according to researchers at the University Hospital ...

Intravesical Gemcitabine For Superficial Bladder Cancer

SAN FRANCISCO—Intravesical gemcitabine may be a safe and effective treatment for superficial bladder cancer, data suggest.

Study Looks at Cardiotoxicity Associated with Sunitinib

SAN FRANCISCO—Researchers are concerned about cardiotoxicity associated with sunitinib, a treatment for advanced kidney cancer.

Clue to Prostate Cancer Spread Found

Activation of the androgen receptor (AR) appears to promote the invasiveness of both androgen-dependent and androgen-refractory prostate cancer, data suggest.

PCa Chemotherapy Holidays Possible

Intermittent chemotherapy may be an option for some men with androgen-independent prostate cancer (AIPC), researchers found.

Dialysis Techniques for ARF May Yield Similar Outcomes

Intermittent hemodialysis and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) appear to lead to similar clinical outcomes for patients with acute renal failure (ARF), according to researchers ...

Tadalafil Safely Improves ED in in Diabetic Men

Once-daily tadalafil 2.5 and 5 mg is safe and effective in men with diabetes and erectile dysfunction (ED), investigators reported in Diabetes Medicine (2008;25:138-146).

Study: LUTS in Men Linked To Diabetes

Irritative lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and nocturia are positively associated with diabetes, a study found. The relationship is greater in black than white men.

Endocarditis More Likely in Transplant Waiting List Patients

Bacterial endocarditis is more likely to develop among patients on a waiting list for a kidney transplant than among kidney transplant recipients, data show.

Renal Stone Location Does Not Affect Lithotripsy Success

Renal stone location does not significantly affect stone clearance rates in patients undergoing endoscopic lithotripsy, investigators conclude.

Health Access A Factor in Renal Care

Universal access to health care might help to overcome racial and ethnic barriers to treatment for kidney disease, according to two studies.

Oxalobacter formigenes May Lower Stone Risk

Colonization with Oxalobacter formigenes may reduce the risk of calcium oxalate kidney stones, a study suggests.

Study: Combo Promising for Metastatic AIPC

SAN FRANCISCO—Adding thalidomide and bevacizumab to docetaxel may hold promise for treating patients with metastatic androgen-independent prostate cancer (AIPC), investigators report.

Untreated PCa Seldom Fatal in Elderly

SAN FRANCISCO—Few elderly men with localized prostate cancer will die from the malignancy after 10 years even in treatment is delayed, so active surveillance for ...

Lower PSAV Threshold Useful

SAN FRANCISCO—A PSA velocity (PSAV) threshold of 0.4 ng/mL per year can distinguish between clinically significant and insignificant prostate cancer, new data suggest.

Sextant Biopsy Alone May Miss Tumors

Prostate biopsies in men with a PSA level of 4.01-10.0 ng/mL and normal findings on digital rectal examination (DRE) should include lateral cores in addition ...

Graft Loss Risk Linked to Employment

Renal graft loss is less likely among transplant recipients who are employed full time when they get their kidneys and at one year postoperatively, according ...

Racial Disparity in Diabetes Control

Diabetes control may be more challenging for Hispanics than for non-Hispanic whites, a meta-analysis suggests.

Your Practice

MD Recruiting: Finding the Right Fit

For nephrology practices bringing a new physician on board and physicians searching for a practice, success ultimately is measured in terms of establishing a long-term ...