microRNAs and the Kidney
MicroRNAs: one of the sexiest topics in the science community these days! Pick up a copy of Science, Nature, or Cell and you can usually find something to do with microRNAs within. What do these have to do…
Posts by
Nathan Hellman
Happy Presidents Day
In honor of Presidents Day I did a quick search to see if any U.S. Presidents suffered from kidney ailments. The name I keep running across is Chester A. Arthur, the 21st President of the U.S., who is…
End-Of-Life Issues in the Dialysis Unit
Did you know that a full 20% of all dialysis patient deaths are due to the patient voluntarily withdrawing from dialysis? I’ve heard this statistic several times now and it never ceases to surprise me–this seems a bit…
Links from Other Nephrology Blogs
A few links for today, borrowing heavily from other Nephrology Blogs: There is an interesting interchange on Kidney Notes responding to some highly negative comments made about the field of Nephrology by a practicing nephrologist “Nephrogirl.” The Precious…
Phosphate Binders Lower Mortality in ESRD Patients
I heard a talk today by one of the fellows in our program who is also the senior author on this recent JASN article: Phosphorus Binders and Survival on Dialysis. Interestingly, even though the current KDOQI Guidelines recommend…
The Legendary Walkerton, Ontario HUS Outbreak of 2000
In a recent Kidney International Supplement issue dealing entirely with TTP/HUS, there are two interesting articles regarding the Walkerton, Ontario HUS Outbreak: the largest public health disaster involving municipal water in Canadian history. In May 2000, approximately 2300…
Loin Pain-Hematuria Syndrome
The loin pain-hematuria syndrome occurs when glomerular hematuria occurs in conjunction with renal colic, in the absence of glomerulonephritis or a worsening of renal function. It is not a common disorder, though appears to be more common in…
The Many Faces of IgA Nephropathy
Heard a case this morning regarding an elderly white patient who presented with nephrotic syndrome and minimal hematuria. After going through the extensive differential diagnosis, focusing largely on the likely candidates (membranous nephropathy and minimal change disease), the…
Basic Immunosuppression Prophylaxis Protocols
A quick & dirty guide for what kidney transplant patients should be on for prophylaxis: 1. PCP Prophylaxis: should be given to all patients for as long as they are on steroids. The standard is Bactrim SS given…
Antibiotic Lock Solutions for Catheter-Related Bacteremia
It doesn’t take long for the renal fellow to realize that a huge chunk of ESRD hospital admissions are due to catheter-related bacteremia, and a number of different algorithms exist for the management of dialysis catheter-related infections. Typically,…