Editorial Material
Oncology
Rebecca L. Utz, Echo L. Warner
Summary: Research should focus on understanding the similarities and differences among diverse caregivers to develop supportive policies and programs.
Article
Urology & Nephrology
Kelly H. Beers, C. John Sperati, David S. Weisman, Khaled Abdel-Kader, Sandeep Soman, Laura Plantinga, Michael J. Choi, Bernard G. Jaar, Raquel C. Greer
Summary: The article discusses the role, challenges, and improvement strategies of primary care for patients receiving hemodialysis, while also suggesting future research needs for enhancing primary care delivery for this high-risk population.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF KIDNEY DISEASES
(2021)
Review
Oncology
John M. Salsman, Suzanne C. Danhauer, Justin B. Moore, Edward H. Ip, Laurie E. McLouth, Chandylen L. Nightingale, Christabel K. Cheung, Kristin M. Bingen, Reginald D. Tucker-Seeley, Denisha Little-Greene, Dianna S. Howard, Bryce B. Reeve
Summary: This systematic review aimed to summarize and evaluate measures of financial burden in cancer, identifying 64 unique measures, including one specifically developed for AYAs but none for their caregivers. The findings suggest that existing measures were primarily designed and evaluated in adult patient populations, with limited focus on AYAs and their caregivers. Opportunities exist to adapt and test existing measures for AYAs and their caregivers.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Marques Shek Nam Ng, Dorothy Ngo Sheung Chan, Qinqin Cheng, Christine Miaskowski, Winnie Kwok Wei So
Summary: This review explored the relationship between financial hardship and symptom burden among patients on dialysis. While decreased income and unemployment were related to overall symptom burden, specific symptoms like depression, fatigue, pain, and sexual dysfunction were more likely to be associated with changes in financial status.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Urology & Nephrology
Christine K. Liu, Janet Seo, Dayeun Lee, Kristen Wright, Manjula Kurella Tamura, Jennifer A. Moye, Jonathan F. Bean, Daniel E. Weiner
Summary: Mobility is severely limited and often precarious for older adults receiving hemodialysis, causing distress. Sources of encouragement and motivation for mobility have been identified and an adaptable mindset is considered important.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF KIDNEY DISEASES
(2022)
Review
Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology
Daniella Rangira, Hiba Najeeb, Samantha E. Shune, Ashwini Namasivayam-MacDonald
Summary: This study, based on a review of empirical studies, found that dysphagia increases caregiver burden in adult patients. The commonly reported causes of burden related to dysphagia include changes in meal preparation, disruption of lifestyle, impact on social life, lack of support, insertion of feeding tubes, and fear of aspiration. Dysphagia-related caregiver burden was found to be a universal experience across different patient populations, caregiver ages, and relationships between caregivers and care recipients. Meta-analysis results suggest that 71% of caregivers of adults with dysphagia experience some degree of burden.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Urology & Nephrology
Maurizio Bossola, S. Susan Hedayati, Astrid D. H. Brys, L. Parker Gregg
Summary: Fatigue is a common symptom in patients undergoing hemodialysis that affects their quality of life. There is limited understanding of the associated risk factors and pathophysiology. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the pathophysiology, but there is currently no convincing data to support them. Fatigue is associated with various clinical factors, including cardiovascular and hemodynamic effects of the dialysis procedure, laboratory abnormalities, depression, and physical inactivity. Further robust studies are needed to establish the pathophysiology and management of this symptom.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF KIDNEY DISEASES
(2023)
Review
Oncology
Eric Chong, Lisa Crowe, Keno Mentor, Sanjay Pandanaboyana, Linda Sharp
Summary: This study systematically reviewed the role of informal caregivers for patients with pancreatic cancer. The results showed that informal caregivers experience significant burden, have unmet needs, and have lower quality of life. It is important to improve communication, provide support, and help navigate the healthcare system to better care for pancreatic cancer patients.
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
(2023)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Fahad Saeed, Susan Ladwig, Rebecca Jane Allen, Nwamaka D. Eneanya, Manjula Kurella Tamura, Kevin A. Fiscella
Summary: This study investigated racial disparities in prognostic discussions, beliefs about future health, and completion of advance care planning (ACP)-related documents among Black and White patients receiving maintenance dialysis. The results showed that there were differences in health expectations and completion of ACP-related documents between Black and White patients. Therefore, systemic efforts are needed to investigate differences in health beliefs and address racial disparities in the completion of ACP-related documents.
JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Review
Oncology
Aylin Tanriverdi, Buse Ozcan Kahraman, Gulbin Ergin, Didem Karadibak, Sema Savci
Summary: The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of exercise intervention on exercise capacity, physical function, and patient-reported outcome measures in adults with cancer receiving palliative care. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 14 studies and 1034 adults with cancer receiving palliative care showed that exercise interventions significantly improved exercise capacity, pain, fatigue, and quality of life.
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
(2023)
Article
Urology & Nephrology
Douglas D. Franz, Wael F. Hussein, Graham Abra, Charles D. Diskin, Vishal Duggal, Jeffrey J. Teuteberg, Tara Chang, Brigitte Schiller
Summary: This case series study found that approximately half of the patients who underwent outpatient hemodialysis after receiving LVAD either recovered kidney function or underwent combined heart and kidney transplantation. Additionally, the study suggests that outpatient hemodialysis centers, in partnership with LVAD treatment teams, can successfully provide hemodialysis to patients on LVAD support.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF KIDNEY DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Nursing
Maryam Janatolmakan, Armin Naghipour, Shahab Rezaeian, Alireza Khatony
Summary: This study aimed to explore predictors of care burden among caregivers of COVID-19 patients. The results showed that caregivers experienced a high care burden, which was significantly associated with monthly income, health status, number of patients under care, and residence status.
Review
Health Care Sciences & Services
Jessika C. Boles, Maile T. Jones
Summary: This systematic review examined a variety of legacy perceptions and interventions in adult and pediatric patients receiving palliative care. The studies documented significant improvements in wellbeing dimensions and reduction in depression symptoms in adult patients, highlighting the utility and perceived benefits of legacy interventions according to patients and caregivers. Further research with high-quality designs is needed to establish a consistent and operational concept of legacy for future practice.
PALLIATIVE MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Seyedmohammad Mirhosseini, Malihe Ameri, Amy Baraniak, Samuel Grimwood, Mohammad Hasan Basirinezhad, Hossein Ebrahimi
Summary: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in care burden and quality of life in caregivers of cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify the factors associated with care burden. The results showed that care burden significantly decreased and quality of life significantly increased after the outbreak. The changes in care burden could be predicted by the studied variables, and the burden of care was closely related to the amount of care and quality of life.
Review
Oncology
Qinqin Cheng, Binbin Xu, Marques S. N. Ng, Hongling Zheng, Winnie K. W. So
Summary: This study aimed to identify self-reported supportive care needs assessment instruments for family caregivers of palliative cancer patients and assess their contents, psychometric properties, and applicability. Four self-reported needs assessment instruments were identified, with significant differences in contents, constructs, scoring methods, and applicability. Major shortcomings included lack of longitudinal validity, strategy for interpreting missing data, and description of literacy level required, indicating a need for further evaluation or development of needs assessment instruments.
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Morgan Clark, Alice Kennard, D. Ashley Watson
Summary: The medical profession has been slow in adopting email communication with patients due to concerns over its utility, safety, and lack of established protocols. However, there is a need for comprehensive professional guidance to inform good clinical practice and address the potential benefits and barriers of email communication. The COVID-19 pandemic has further emphasized the importance of formal guidelines on emailing with patients.
INTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL
(2023)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Alice Kennard, Nicholas Glasgow, Suzanne Rainsford, Girish Talaulikar
Summary: Frailty is a multidimensional clinical syndrome that is highly prevalent in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease and may contribute to adverse outcomes. Assessment of frailty should be included in the routine evaluation of patients with chronic kidney disease and inform important medical transitions.
INTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL
(2023)
Review
Urology & Nephrology
Benjamin Talbot, Alan Cass, Robert Walker, Lai Hooi, Meg Jardine, Min Jun, Kris Rogers, Louisa Sukkar, Brendan Smyth, Martin Gallagher
Summary: This study examined whether there were differences in survival and causes of death among participants from Australia, Malaysia, and New Zealand in the extended follow-up of the SHARP study. It was found that participants from Malaysia and New Zealand had a higher risk of death compared to participants from Australia.
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Min Jun, Anish Scaria, Jason Andrade, Sunil Badve, Peter Birks, Sarah E. Bota, Anna Campain, Ognjenka Djurdjev, Amit X. Garg, Jeffrey Ha, Ziv Harel, Brenda Hemmelgarn, Carinna Hockham, Matthew T. James, Meg J. Jardine, Adeera Levin, Eric McArthur, Pietro Ravani, Selena Shao, Manish M. Sood, Zhi Tan, Navdeep Tangri, Reid Whitlock, Martin Gallagher
Summary: This study found that the use of DOACs in atrial fibrillation patients was associated with a lower or similar risk of all-cause death, ischemic stroke, and major bleeding compared to the use of warfarin, regardless of kidney function levels.
EUROPEAN HEART JOURNAL-QUALITY OF CARE AND CLINICAL OUTCOMES
(2023)
Article
Urology & Nephrology
David Collister, Lonnie Pyne, Arrti A. Bhasin, Sotla B. Ahmed, Brendan Smyth, William Herrington, Meg Jardine, Michael Walsh
Summary: This study investigates how sex and gender concepts are incorporated into randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in adults with kidney failure receiving maintenance dialysis. The results show that most RCTs only report either sex or gender, with few studies including both in their reporting and analysis.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF KIDNEY DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Akihiko Koshino, Megumi Oshima, Clare Arnott, Robert A. Fletcher, George L. Bakris, Meg Jardine, Kenneth W. Mahaffey, Vlado Perkovic, Carol Pollock, Hiddo J. L. Heerspink, Brendon L. Neuen
DIABETES OBESITY & METABOLISM
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Ying Xie, Jin Lin, Martin Gallagher, Rinaldo Bellomo, Xia Wang, Meg Jardine, Meili Duan, Amanda Wang
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the associations between baseline blood glucose levels (BGL), glycemic variability, and clinical outcomes in severe acute kidney injury (AKI) patients receiving continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). The findings suggest that low baseline BGL within the normal physiological range and higher glycemic variability are significant modifiable risk factors for mortality in ICU patients with severe AKI.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Letter
Anesthesiology
Thomas Payne, Mark Coburn, Stefan Dieleman, Gillian Heller, Meg Jardine, Yahya Shehabi, Robert D. Sanders
BRITISH JOURNAL OF ANAESTHESIA
(2023)
Article
Urology & Nephrology
Sjoukje van der Hoek, Niels Jongs, Megumi Oshima, Brendon L. L. Neuen, Jasper Stevens, Vlado Perkovic, Adeera Levin, Kenneth W. W. Mahaffey, Carol Pollock, Tom Greene, David C. C. Wheeler, Meg J. J. Jardine, Hiddo J. L. Heerspink
Summary: In the CREDENCE trial, canagliflozin was found to have a greater impact on eGFR slope in patients with higher baseline HbA1c levels, indicating that patients with poorer glycemic control may benefit more from the drug.
CLINICAL JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Amy Kang, Brendan Smyth, Brendon L. L. Neuen, Hiddo J. L. Heerspink, Gian Luca Di Tanna, Hong Zhang, Clare Arnott, Carinna Hockham, Rajiv Agarwal, George Bakris, David M. M. Charytan, Dick de Zeeuw, Tom Greene, Adeera Levin, Carol Pollock, David C. C. Wheeler, Kenneth W. W. Mahaffey, Vlado Perkovic, Meg J. J. Jardine
Summary: The aim of this study was to assess the risk of non-genital skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) associated with the sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor canagliflozin. A post hoc analysis of two trials was conducted, and the results showed that canagliflozin did not significantly affect the risk of non-genital SSTIs or non-genital fungal SSTIs compared with placebo. This suggests that the changes in skin microenvironment mediated by SGLT2 inhibitors may not have meaningful clinical consequences.
DIABETES OBESITY & METABOLISM
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
David M. Charytan, Kenneth W. Mahaffey, Meg J. Jardine, Christopher P. Cannon, Bruce Neal, Hiddo J. Lambers Heerspink, Rajiv Agarwal, George L. Bakris, Dick de Zeeuw, Adeera Levin, Carol Pollock, Hong Zhang, Bernard Zinman, Norman Rosenthal, Vlado Perkovic, Gian Luca Di Tanna, Jie Yu, Kris Rogers, Clare Arnott, David C. Wheeler
Summary: The relationship between the glycemic-lowering effects of sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors and their impact on kidney and cardiovascular outcomes remains uncertain. This study analyzed the effects of canagliflozin on hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in individuals with diabetes and the mediation of glycemic control on treatment outcomes. The results showed that the glycemic effects of canagliflozin were attenuated at lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), but its effects on kidney and cardiovascular outcomes were preserved.
BMJ OPEN DIABETES RESEARCH & CARE
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Reza Mohebi, Yuxi Liu, Michael K. K. Hansen, Yshai Yavin, Naveed Sattar, Carol A. A. Pollock, Javed Butler, Meg Jardine, Serge Masson, Hiddo J. L. Heerspink, James L. L. Januzzi
Summary: This study investigated the association of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 with cardio-renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes patients. The results showed that elevated IGF-1 was associated with lower glomerular filtration rate at baseline, while changes in IGFBP-3 were not associated with clinical outcomes. However, an increase in the IGF-1/IGFBP-3 ratio was associated with a higher risk of cardio-renal outcomes.
CARDIOVASCULAR DIABETOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Urology & Nephrology
Robert A. Fletcher, Niels Jongs, Glenn M. Chertow, John J. V. Mcmurray, Clare Arnott, Meg J. Jardine, Kenneth W. Mahaffey, Vlado Perkovic, Patrick Rockenschaub, Peter Rossing, Ricardo Correa-Rotter, Robert D. Toto, Muthiah Vaduganathan, David C. Wheeler, Hiddo J. L. Heerspink, Brendon L. Neuen
Summary: This study analyzed the effect of SGLT2 inhibitors on the discontinuation of RAS blockade and found that patients receiving SGLT2 inhibitors had a lower risk of discontinuing RAS blockade. This effect was particularly pronounced in patients with a high baseline urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Sneha S. Jain, Jie Yu, Clare Arnott, Bruce Charles Neal, Vlado Perkovic, Brendon Neuen, Meg Jardine, Kenneth W. Mahaffey
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Urology & Nephrology
Alison Craswell, Debbie Massey, Deepa Sriram, Marianne Wallis, Kevan Polkinghorne, Girish Talaulikar, Alan Cass, Martin Gallagher, Nicholas Gray, Sradha Kotwal
Summary: This study evaluates the implementation of a care bundle to standardize the practices of central venous catheters for hemodialysis. However, no reduction in catheter-related infections was observed. The process evaluation reveals that resistance to change in low-infection environments and the need for individualized patient education are barriers to the adoption of the care bundle.
