Get your flu shots, everyone! Renal Fellow Network recently had to take an H1N1-sponsored weekend off, and I strongly suggest getting the vaccine if available to you; this bug is no fun at all. I’ve written about the…
Final results of last week’s Renal Fellow Network poll: There seemed to be general agreement that volume expansion with isotonic saline is definitely effective, and many individuals also selected the isotonic saline + N-acetylcysteine combination. Interestingly, only 23%…
The ability to adequately suppress the immune system and prevent allograft rejection has been a true success story over the past several decades. With the advent of drugs such as calcineurin inhibitors, induction agents such as thymoglobulin, azathioprine…
Hypouricemia is defined as a serum uric acid level less than 2mg/dL. Although it is generally considered benign, hypouricemia has been associated with several important conditions relevant to nephrologists, including acute kidney injury, uric acid nephrolithiasis, and SIADH…
File “Gordon Syndrome” under “interesting causes of hyperkalemia and metabolic acidosis you may never see.” Also called pseudohypoaldosteronism type II, Gordon Syndrome is relevant less so for the number of patients afflicted but more due to the interesting…
There are a variety of drugs which can result in hyperkalemia, via a variety of mechanisms. Here are a list of some of the common offenders, categorized loosely based on mechanism, though admittedly there is some overlap between…
It was a close vote that came down to the wire, but there was an ever-so slight preference for peritoneal dialysis modalities (53% CAPD+CCPD) as compared to hemodialysis modalities (47% standard hemo + home hemo) when RFN readers…
The Dead Sea, located between Israel and Jordan, is considered one the saltiest bodies of water on earth, giving swimmers a peculiar buoyancy when immersed. Interestingly, the electrolyte composition of the Dead Sea is quite different from that…
There are some interesting acid-base perturbations that can take place in the setting of eating disorders and/or surreptitious use of substances used to intentionally lose weight. Due to the surreptitious nature of many of these disorders, some lab…
Secondary prevention of nephrolithiasis is often overlooked, but since a large percentage of 1st-time stone formers will go on to develop another episode of nephrolithiasis, it makes sense to make simple dietary modifications that can minimize the risk…
