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
Femoral versus Jugular: part three
Previous posts have discussed various iterations of the cathedia study, a study comparing femoral and jugular placement of dialysis catheters in patients in the ICU. As mentioned before, the femoral route was not associated with a higher rate…
In a Few Words
“A doctor, like a writer, must have a voice of his own, something that conveys the timbre, the rhythm, the diction, and the music of his humanity, that compensates us for all the speechless machines.” -Anatole BroyardIntoxicated by…
Azathioprine in pregnancy
We recently discussed this issue in conference and I thought it might be worth sharing a few interesting points: Azathioprine is normally converted to the active metabolite 6-mercaptopurine. However, in pregnancy the placenta can metabolize azathioprine to thiouric…
Cell Polarity and Cystic Diseases
There was an interesting article and accompanying editorial in JASN this month about the role of polarity in the development of cystic renal diseases. The maintenance of epithelial cell polarity is vital for the normal functioning of the…
From the RFN archives: The Brenner Hypothesis
The Brenner Hypothesis–developed by Barry Brenner of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, author of the well-known Brenner & Rector “The Kidney” textbook–states that individuals with a congenital reduction in nephron number have a much greater likelihood of developing…
Hold the potassium
It was not an unusual event during my clinical fellowship to get a call from the cardiac team asking for dialysis in a patient with hyperkalemia and acute renal failure. On a few occasions the hyperkalemia seemed disproportionate…
Classification of Metabolic Alkalosis
Dr John Gennari had another typically excellent review of metabolic alkalosis in AJKD in October. He suggests an alternative means of classifying a metabolic alkalosis according to the etiology of the alkalosis along with the physiological basis for…
Is the glass half empty or half full?
Recently, we were asked to see a patient on the consult service with a rising creatinine, a BUN of close to 200 and decreased urine output. The patient was a diabetic who had an STEMI several months previously…
Timing of Dialysis Initiation: The Billion Dollar Question
One of the true arts learned during renal fellowship is the timing of initiation of dialysis in outpatients with advanced chronic kidney disease. This a crucial skill to develop as the beginning of dialysis has major implications for…
Top nephrology-related stories of 2011
2011 proved to be another exciting year in the world of nephrology. 2010 was dominated with big clinical trials (SHARP, FHN, IDEAL), APOL1 gene variants, Propublica article on HD in the US, and medicare bundling. 2011 proved…