Archives of Nephrology and Renal Studies

While the global COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the entire humanity and health systems, it also triggered researchers to urgently perform clinical trials to assess the safety and efficacy of many agents and modalities to combat COVID-19. As of April 22, over 650 clinical studies have been registered both in USA and internationally. Results from these studies are also coming at a brisk pace in this unprecedented emergency.

Ketamine has long been used in the field of anesthesia [1]. Its rapid and long-acting analgesic effects associated with its dissociative properties have also established its use in prehospital and emergency department patients.

The currently ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the SARSCOV- 2, interchangeably referred to as the COVID-19 infection, has in a short span of time altered the ways and means of almost all of mankind. So strong has been its effect that all human activity ceased in one way or another for a considerable time, led to significant loss of life and economic drain of.

Thermal ablation (TA) is increasingly used as a treatment for localized renal masses (LRMs, <4 cm) especially in older or comorbid patients. Our previous article by Mershon et al., highlighted the safety and efficacy of TA for treatment of LRMs in select patients. In this presentation, we update that work and discuss new frontiers for TA including patient selection, procedural improvements, and outcomes.

Five months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. death toll from the virus has now surpassed 100,000 people. Many more cases remain nationwide, while an unknown number of patients currently harbor the virus asymptomatically. While health officials are now optimistic regarding the decline in prevalence and number of deaths due to COVID-19 and the possibility of a vaccine by the fall, we cannot lose sight of the bigger picture: the next pandemic.

Our modern world is facing extraordinary circumstances while passing through a serious pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) which may lead to multi-organ system failure & death. Bcell depletion could compromise antiviral immunity, which makes the safety of rituximab use in the COVID19 era unclear.

With the advent of the direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), patients requiring anticoagulation for common conditions such as atrial fibrillation and venous thromboembolism no longer need to worry about dietary restrictions or regular monitoring of the international normalized ratio which complicated warfarin treatment.

In the article, “Mental Health Framework: Coronavirus pandemic in post-Katrina New Orleans” [1], Shervington and Richardson offer recommendations about how to anticipate and address disaster-related, trauma exposures associated with the coronavirus pandemic

In January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified COVID-19 to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and declared it a pandemic on March 11, 2020 [1]. Over one hundred and eighty-five million people have been infected by SARS-CoV-2 and roughly four million have died worldwide so far

Liver fibrosis is a reversible wound-healing response in which a variety of cells and factors are involved in and results in excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM). Cirrhosis is one of the significant causes of portal hypertension and end-stage liver disease, and it is the 14th most common cause of death around the world. Approximately 1.03 million people worldwide die from liver cirrhosis every year.

One of the most important renal nursing procedures is the cannulation of a vascular access (VA), a procedure that is carried out on every single dialysis treatment. VA cannulation method is still a procedure that reflects local unit practices and the skill of the individual nurse. Despite the impact needling has on VA survival and patient outcome, no universal or standardized method has been proposed for cannulation. 

There is growing body of literature to identify novel prognostic markers in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), including serum ferritin (SF), transferrin levels, alfa fetoprotein (AFP), and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Chronic inflammation and fibrogenesis are considered quite essential in the oncogenesis of HCC. The trigger for this inflammation could range from viral hepatitis, alcoholic cirrhosis, to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Also, iron overload as in hereditary hemochromatosis is linked to one of the factors for HCC oncogenesis.

Medullary breast carcinoma (MBC) is a rare tumor, representing 3% to 5% of invasive breast carcinomas. The World Health Organization defines it as a well-circumscribed invasive tumor, composed of poorly differentiated cells, arranged in sheets, without gland formation and a scarce collagen stroma with the presence of a very prominent lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate.

Fluoropyrimidines compose the backbone of regimens to treat many common solid tumors, including gastrointestinal (GI), breast and head/neck. As we continue to use these agents routinely, recognition of rare but real toxicities, such as cardiotoxicity, has also improved. The treatment options for patients who have encountered fluoropyrimidine-induced cardiotoxicity are limited as many anti-angiogenic drugs also pose a cardiac risk.

External beam radiotherapy with concomitant platinum-based chemotherapy followed by brachytherapy is defined as radical radiotherapy of cervix uteri carcinoma. Radical radiotherapy is the gold standard treatment for locally advanced cervix uteri carcinoma. The rates of survival and treatment-related adverse events in patients with cervix uteri carcinoma are affected by both stage of disease and treatment. Both should be optimal in proportion to the available facilities. Here, recommendations from the current literature are presented.

The COVID-19 pandemic has provoked a global, rapid increase of cases due to the high infectivity of the etiological agent, COVID-19 virus. In February 2021, over 110 million confirmed COVID-19 cases with 1 million deaths were reported worldwide (www.who.int).

Primary small cell carcinoma of the bladder is very rare pathological entity, follows an aggressive course and carries poor prognosis. The literature carrying these articles are scarce and due to which it poses a diagnostic challenge to the radiologist and urologists. Herein, we present a case of small cell carcinoma of urinary bladder in a 75-year-old male patient initially reported as poorly differentiated urothelial carcinoma on transurethral resection of bladder tumor specimen to emphasize its rarity as well as the role of immunohistochemistry to differentiate between the two.

Background: The precise role of corticosteroids for treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is unclear due to lack of randomized trials. Objective: To review the therapeutic value of corticosteroids for treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 with more emphasis on randomized trials. Methods: English literature search of electronic databases supplemented by manual search up to June 29, 2020. Search terms included corticosteroids, COVID-19, dexamethasone, methylprednisolone, hydrocortisone, mortality, safety. Randomized trials were the main focus of research, but observational studies were also reviewed.

Since December 2019, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused by 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has resulted in 89,000 cases of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), formerly known as Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (NCP) in China, including 2,450 deaths.

Medical management of hypertension in pregnancy is indicated for severe range blood pressures. This is diagnosed with either systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 160 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥110 mm Hg on two occasions at least 4 hours apart. When this diagnosis is established, fast-acting anti-hypertensive medications can be utilized for acutely severe range blood pressures.