Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), invented during the 1980s in Germany, uses concentrated pulses of sound waves to break up kidney stones too large to pass on their own into smaller pieces, which will then have a chance…
A subset of patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis have drug-induced ANCA disease. There are a few features of drug-induced ANCA disease which set it apart from “idiopathic” ANCA disease, but overall the clinical symptoms are similar. Drug-induced ANCA almost…
Have you ever given THAM (tromethamine)? For whatever reason I was completely unfamiliar with the drug as a resident, but it is given not infrequently in the surgical ICU’s in the hospitals in which I’ve worked as a…
The Journal C-JASN has begun a new monthly feature: “The Nephrology Hall Of Fame”, in which each month an outstanding contributor to the field of Nephrology will be honored by an article describing their major contributions. The first-ever…
Cardiovascular mortality in the general ESRD population is between 10- and 20-fold higher than that of the general population, and is an astounding 65-fold higher in ESRD individuals in the 45-54-year-old subgroup of the Framingham study. A recent…
There has been a lot of literature over the past few years regarding the identification of gadolinium-based contrast dye as the driving force behind the dermatologic fibrosing condition nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF). While there remain doubters that gadolinium…
Dent Disease is a rare, X-linked inherited disease of pediatric nephrology. It can be filed under the category of “renal tubular dysfunction” and is also known as “X-linked Recessive Nephrolithiasis.” Clinical characteristics of Dent Disease include recurrent renal…
As discussed in a recent post describing the success of early goal-directed therapy for sepsis, the test for serum lactate has enjoyed a rise in prominence in recent years. However, all that is lactic acid is not necessarily…
Hot topic of research: do kidney stem cells kidney exist? Stem cells are defined as a subpopulation of cells which retain the ability of self-renewal and differentiation into a specialized cell type. Stem cells specific to many tissue…
I heard a talk on “Sepsis & Renal Failure” today, which reviewed much of the recent evidence-based medicine trials regarding the treatment of sepsis in the ICU. Honestly, the main message I came away with was this: most…
