Anti-Nephrin Antibodies in Minimal Change Disease
Approach to the Patient with Peritoneal Dialysis Catheter Dysfunction- Part 1
Want to write a case report? RFN has you covered with a list of journals to choose from
Have a Nephrology Question? There Might Be A #Tweetorial For That!
Conferences, Courses, & Grants
FOAMed
Interventional Nephrology Series
Focus on Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Nephrology (POCUN) Series
Kidney Biopsy of the Month Series
Plasma Exchange for Myeloma?
A question which comes up not infrequently during nephrology fellowship is whether or not to perform pheresis on patients with multiple myeloma. Once very much in vogue, the results of a fairly recent (Annals of Internal Medicine, 2005)…
Peritoneal Dialysis Color Coding
A quick one before the July 4th Weekend… Peritoneal dialysis solutions are often color-coded based on the dextrose concentration. Dextrose is used as the osmotically-active agent. As it is partially absorbed, patients with diabetes have to watch out…
peritoneal equilibration test (PET)
Not all peritoneal membranes are created equally. The peritoneal equilibration test (PET) is a standardized method for assessing peritoneal membrane function, and is used for tailoring an appropriate, individualized PD prescription. The test is based on the fact…
Uremic Pericarditis
We are all familiar with “uremic pericarditis” as one of the standard indications for initiating dialysis, and the number of physical exams with a negative cardiac rub I have documented this year is truly impressive. Which is why,…
What’s in a crescent?
What are the cells that make up crescents, the histopathologic hallmark of rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN)? Classically these have been thought to be the parietal epithelial cells which make up Bowman’s capsule. However there is now some thought…
Aliskiren
Are renin inhibitors the next big weapon in the fight against hypertension? As we all know, ACE-I’s & ARB’s have so many renoprotective effects that there is substantial evidence towards using these medications as first-line agents for blood…
Hereditary Magnesium Wasting
There are a variety of interesting genetic diseases that can cause hereditary Magnesium wasting. Renal magnesium handling is a little different than other ions in that the primary site of reabsorption is not the proximal convoluted tubule. Rather,…
FGF23
For many years, the existence of “phosphatonins”–substances secreted by certain tumors which result in profound renal phosphorus wasting and resultant osteomalacia–has been postulated. Evidence has recently been accumulating that fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) is the phosphatonin we…
Renal Aspects To Hepatic Encephalopathy
I was consulted yesterday on a patient with liver and renal failure–obviously, not an uncommon occurrence, as the two often go hand in hand. The patient had presented with altered mental status, and the question came up: hepatic…
Foscarnet & Hypocalcemia
A quick fact about foscarnet, one of the many drugs which can cause drug-induced hypocalcemia. Foscarnet is an antiviral medication, commonly used in the treatment of herpesviruses and CMV infections (e.g., CMV retinitis). The mechanism of its hypocalcemic…