1/22. A diversified patient education program for transplant recipients.patients who receive a solid organ transplant not only have many learning needs, but also lifestyle changes related to the transplant. Previous experiences with health care, beliefs about health, language and reading skills, cultural influences, education preparation, and disabilities are a few of the factors that influence how each patient learns posttransplantation, and adjusts to a new lifestyle. Staff nurses on our transplant unit have taken these factors into consideration when developing various concrete teaching tools that include a book, medication card, color-coded medication guide, audiocassette, computer printouts, and clinical pathways. Because each patient comes with a unique story, approaches for patient learning are individualized by the nursing staff. The use of the tools, combined with an individualized and nonjudgmental approach, has created a caring environment for patient learning.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/22. patient safety in end-stage renal disease: How do we create a safe environment?The Institute of medicine estimated that 44,000 to 98,000 hospitalized patients die annually as a direct result of preventable medical errors. Errors occur because competent practitioners are human, and the systems we design are imperfect. Improving patient safety requires acknowledging medical errors, encouraging the reporting of errors, and improving systems to reduce the likelihood of future errors. Several challenges must be addressed to accomplish this goal. The definition of medical errors must be widely agreed on and accepted. Adverse outcomes are often the result of multiple systems failures. Therefore systems analysis, not blaming an individual, should be the focus of error reduction. A "culture of safety" should be created, which encourages reporting errors and "near-misses." An effective reporting system has 2 components, one for public accountability for errors that result in serious injury and another for confidential reporting of mistakes that have the potential for serious injury. Regulatory protection from discovery must be established for voluntary error and near-miss reporting systems. In the nephrology community, novel uses of technology should be sought to prevent errors, human factors leading to errors should be identified and anticipated, and patterns of interaction at the machine-human interface should be studied. Progress in improving patient safety has occurred in some areas, such as pharmacy services. Such known and tested patient safety practices should be deployed in dialysis facilities. Success in improving patient safety will require leadership, collaborative efforts among the many stakeholders in the ESRD program, and adequate allocation of resources.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 4keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/22. Cryptococcal meningitis in renal transplant patients associated with environmental exposure.Fungal infections in renal transplant recipients are less common than bacterial infections; however, the morbidity from fungal infections is high. There is limited information in the literature concerning post-transplantation cryptococcal infection due to environmental exposure of patients living in high-risk areas. We report three patients who were diagnosed with cryptococcal meningitis after kidney transplantation. Cryptococcal titers prior to transplant surgery were negative in all three patients. These patients all lived in rural areas and demonstrated evidence of environmental exposure leading to subsequent cryptococcal meningitis. All patients had exposure to pigeon and chicken excreta and, after treatment, two patients are alive and well with excellent allograft function. The third patient has marginal renal function but is currently not on dialysis. early diagnosis is essential for salvage from these potentially lethal infections. Intense headache was a prominent feature in the clinical presentation of our patients, and should signal the need for early sampling and culture of spinal fluid. Meningismus was not present in any of our patients, even when other systemic symptoms were identified. We recommend a high index of suspicion post-transplantation for all patients who may have environmental or occupational exposure to cryptococcus. If infection is detected quickly and treatment instituted promptly, patient recovery and allograft survival are possible. Long-term therapy with fluconazole, a non-nephrotoxic agent, should permit eradication of the infection with preservation of kidney function.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 7keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/22. Hemodialysis in management of hypothermia.hypothermia is defined as a core body temperature of less than 35 degrees C and is divided further into mild, moderate, and severe depending on the temperature level. Several active internal rewarming modalities have been described in the management of moderate-to-severe accidental hypothermia. We report a 73-year-old black man with underlying end-stage renal failure and ischemic cardiomyopathy who was admitted with severe accidental hypothermia (core body temperature, 24.9 degrees C) secondary to environmental cold exposure. The patient was resuscitated initially with warm intravenous fluids and peritoneal dialysis with warm fluids with an average temperature rise of 1 degrees C. The patient was switched to hemodialysis that brought his temperature from 30.2 degrees C to 36.7 degrees C during a 3.5-hour dialysis with an average rise of 1.9 degrees C/h. Hemodialysis is a rapid and efficient modality of rapid internal rewarming for moderate-to-severe accidental hypothermia.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/22. A down syndrome patient treated by peritoneal dialysis.down syndrome patients are apparently not suited for peritoneal dialysis because of lacking cooperation. We report on an adult down syndrome patient living in a difficult social environment suffering from ESRD due to posterior urethral valve. Comorbid conditions include decreased left ventricular function, hepatitis b carrier stage and hypothyroidism. The committed mother of the patient treats the patient successfully by peritoneal dialysis for a period of two years without episode of peritonitis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/22. Scleromyxoedema-like changes in four renal dialysis patients.We describe four renal dialysis patients from our hospital who, over a 6-month period, developed erythematous, thickened, indurated dermal plaques. The plaques were limited to the limbs and in three patients there were associated flexion contractures. The clinical features most resembled scleromyxoedema. All patients had previously received at least one renal transplant. Histopathology of the plaques showed features of scleromyxoedema in two patients, whereas the other two showed a different picture, more suggestive of a morphoea-like process. There are important differences between our patients and classical scleromyxoedema. All four patients had normal immunoglobulins and no paraprotein was detected. Almost all cases of classical scleromyxoedema are associated with an IgGlambda paraproteinaemia. We have not yet identified an underlying cause for this cluster of cases in our hospital. It is possible that the skin changes seen may have been precipitated by an environmental agent, such as in 'toxic oil syndrome' and vinyl chloride-induced scleroderma. We discuss the differences between our patients and those with scleromyxoedema, localized or generalized morphoea and environmentally induced scleroderma. We feel that our patients show a constellation of features similar, but not identical, to scleromyxoedema. There has been only one previous report of similar patients. We believe this to be a new and distinct phenomenon.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/22. Twenty-eight-year-old female with primary amenorrhea and chronic renal failure: a case of frasier syndrome?frasier syndrome is a very rare developmental disorder of autosomal recessive inheritance. It is characterized by male hermaphroditism, primary amenorrhea, chronic renal failure (CRF), and a number of other abnormalities. A 28-year-old Nigerian female who was considered as a possible case of frasier syndrome first presented to us in July 2002 with primary amenorrhea, congenital bilateral absence of middle toes, elevated blood pressure, and the uremic syndrome. The management of the case was mainly conservative, including blood pressure control with appropriate antihypertensives. The problems inherent in this index case are discussed while proffering appropriate management approach in a near-ideal situation, which unfortunately is nonexistent in our local environment. The presentation of this case is informed by the need to create awareness about this rare syndrome being a possible cause of CRF in some of our patients.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/22. Group B Streptococcus (streptococcus agalactiae) peritonitis associated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD).streptococcus agalactiae typically induces serious infections in pregnant women and newborns. Nonpregnant adult patients can also be infected and mortality rate exceeds 40%. CAPD peritonitis is very rarely induced by S. agalactiae. Seven cases have been described previously and all had a very severe course, which included bacteremia, septic shock and death. A 27-year-old male with end-stage renal disease due to membranoprolipherative glomerulonephritis type I, who was on CAPD for 17 months, was admitted with the clinical and laboratory picture of CAPD peritonitis. Severe abdominal pain, shaking chills and fever 38.5 microC were also observed at presentation. streptococcus agalactiae was isolated from the peritoneal fluid and blood culture was sterile. Under treatment with ceftazidime and tobramycin (i.p.) and vancomycin (i.v.) cultures became negative after 48 hours, abdominal symptoms resolved after 12 days and WBC count in the dialysate normalized after 14 days. As a possible source of infection the patient's partner was shown to be a vaginal carrier of a clone of S. agalactiae identical to that isolated in the peritoneal fluid. S. agalactiae is a rare cause of CAPD peritonitis with potentially very serious consequences. Anal or genital tract colonization is, in general, the source of contamination with S. agalactiae. The microbiological findings in the case presented here suggest that colonization of the patient or of his close environment may be important in the pathogenesis of S. agalactiae-induced CAPD peritonitis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/22. Cryptosporidium infection in renal transplant patients.cryptosporidium parvum, an intracellular protozoan parasite, is a significant cause of gastrointestinal disease worldwide. Transmission can occur from an infected person, animal or fecally contaminated environment. The clinical manifestations of cryptosporidiosis are dependent on the immunologic state of the host. Infection among immunocompetent hosts results in diarrhea that is typically self-limited. In immunocompromised hosts, however, the infection may be protracted and life-threatening with no reliable antimicrobial therapy. In transplant patients, a course of antimicrobial therapy along with concurrent reduction in immunosuppression optimize immunologic status and may potentially lead to resolution of the infection.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/22. peritonitis with multiple rare environmental bacteria in a patient receiving long-term peritoneal dialysis.We describe a patient receiving long-term peritoneal dialysis who experienced 2 episodes of peritonitis in successive months caused by unusual bacteria of environmental origin: agrobacterium radiobacter, pseudomonas oryzihabitans, and corynebacterium aquaticum. A radiobacter and P oryzihabitans occurred simultaneously in the first episode of peritonitis, and C aquaticum, in the second episode. The patient's vocation necessitated exposure to moist soiled conditions. Both episodes responded promptly to antibiotics commonly used to treat peritonitis. Although these organisms rarely lead to loss of life and commonly are considered to be contaminants, they can cause symptomatic peritonitis and peritoneal dialysis catheter loss. A review of previous case reports is included.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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