There is widespread use of herbal and dietary supplements worldwide among patients despite robust clinical evidence of its efficacy. This may lead to adverse effects, such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke, cardiovascular risk and kidney problems due to inappropriate self-prescription. This study was performed to determine the prevalence of herbal and dietary supplements usage among patients with chronic kidney disease and its association with the socio-demographic background and the conventional medication adherence. Materials and methods: A survey was conducted among 78 chronic kidney disease patients attending the Nephrology Clinic, Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan, Kuantan, Pahang. Data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi Square Test and Fisher’s Exact Test. The p-valuewas set to be less 0.05 for its level of significance. Results: Most of the patients aged more than 50 years (89.7%), female (53.8%), unemployed (41%) and from lower socio-economic earners (75.6%). Only 5.2% of respondents reported using herbal and dietary supplements. There was no association between socio-demographic background with the herbal and dietary supplements usage. Similarly, there was no association between herbal and dietary supplements usage and the conventional medication adherence. Conclusion: This study provides a good baseline on the usage of herbal and dietary supplements use among chronic disease patients. It can be concluded that the level of awareness among the patients is good. Nevertheless, a larger study shall be performed in the future to explore the pattern of association.
Kidney biopsy is indicated to confirm the clinical diagnosis or to evaluate prognosis of a renal problem. It is a reliable and safe procedure, especially with real-time ultrasound guidance. This is a single-center, retrospective review of the biopsies performed in Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan, Pahang from 2000 to 2010. The demographic data, clinical parameters, and histological reports were extracted from clinic records and analyzed to determine the diagnostic adequacy of biopsy samples for both lupus and non-lupus patients. A total of 219 biopsies were performed throughout the period and only 74 were included in this review. Their mean age was 22.5 ± 10.5 years. 59.5% of the biopsies were performed on female patients. Malays comprised 79.7% (n = 59) of them, followed by Chinese (18.9%, n=14) and Indian (1.4%, n=1). About one-third of the biopsies(n = 25) were performed on patients with lupus nephritis and two-thirds (n = 49) on non-lupus nephritis patients. At the time of biopsy, their serum creatinine values were normal, serum albumin 28.4 ± 10 g/L and total cholesterol 8.9 ± 4.6 mmol/L (mean ± SD). The urine dipstick was 3+ for both proteinuria and hematuria and daily protein excretion was 3.6 ± 3.2 g. Sixty-seven specimens were considered adequate and only six (8%) were inadequate for histological interpretations. The mean number of glomeruli in the biopsy specimens was 16 ± 9.9 (range: 0-47 glomeruli). In non-lupus patients, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis was the commonest histological diagnosis (n = 15, 30.6%), followed by minimal change disease (n = 13, 26.5%) and mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (n = 7, 14.3%). Membranous nephropathy was diagnosed in four (8.2%) and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis in two (4.1%) specimens. Both post-infectious glomerulonephritis and advanced glomerulosclerosis were found in one specimen each. Among the lupus nephritis patients (n = 25), 88% of them were females (P <0.05) and lupus nephritis WHO class IV was the commonest variant (n = 12, 48%) followed by WHO class III (n = 7, 28%). Membranous glomerulopathy or lupus nephritis WHO class V was found in three (12%), and two (8%) had lupus nephritis WHO class II. Serum albumin, urinalysis findings, and daily urinary protein excretion were comparable for both lupus and non-lupus patients. In conclusion, renal biopsy in our center is adequate and sufficient for histological interpretations and management of patients with renal problems.
Malignancy is a significant long-term complication of successful renal transplantation. Not only the rate is higher but also cases are highly aggressive. We report a case of metastatic, small cell, neuroendocrine tumor in a post-renal transplant patient with progressive left inguinal nodes and right lumbar swellings. He had a remarkably elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase levels with multiple metastatic masses in the left inguinal, left iliac fossa, and right lower abdominal wall on abdominal computed tomography scan. Excisional biopsy of a left inguinal node revealed extensive infiltration with malignant cells in it. Immunohistochemistry staining was positive for synaptophysin, prostatic specific antigen, and CD56. While the primary small cell carcinoma of genitourinary organs is rare, the case illustrates the highly aggressive nature of the disease in a kidney transplant recipient.
Diabetic nephropathy (DN) has become the most common cause of end-stage renal failure. Early referral and specific nephrology treatment could delay the disease progression and should reduce the treatment cost, mortality and morbidity rate in these patients. This is a single-center, retrospective review of all DN patients referred to the nephrology clinic in Hospital Sultan Ahmad Shah, Temerloh, from 2000 to 2009, to study and define the clinical characteristics of DN patients at the time of the referral to the nephrology clinic. A total of 75 patient case records were reviewed. Forty-three (57.3%) of them were males, with a median age of 64.3 ± 8.5 years at the time of referral. Only 14.7% of them had blood pressure lower than 125/75 mmHg. Co-morbid and disease-related complications were also commonly diagnosed and 28.4% (n = 21) had ischemic heart disease, 23% (n = 17) had diabetic retinopathy and 20.3% (n = 15) had diabetic neuropathy. The mean serum creatinine at the time of referral was 339.8 ± 2.3 μmol/L, gylcated hemoglobin A 1c (HbA1C) was 8.1 ± 2.0 %, serum fasting glucose was 9.6 ± 4.7 mmol/L, serum cholesterol was 5.4 ± 1.2 mmol/L and hemoglobin level was 10.6 ± 2.9 g/dL. Although female patients were less frequently seen in the early stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD), they comprised at least 72.7% of CKD stage 5 (male:female; 6:16, P <0.05). Twenty-nine percent (n=22) of them were referred at CKD stage 5, 48% (n=36) were at CKD stage 4, 17.3% (n=13) were at CKD stage 3, 4% (n=3) were at CKD stage 2 and 1.3% (n=1) was at CKD stage 1. Advanced CKD patients were frequently prescribed with more antihypertensives. CKD stage 5 patients were prescribed with two-and-half types of antihypertensive as compared to two types of anti-hypertensive in CKD stage 2 and stage 3. Furthermore, ACE-inhibitors (ACE-I) were less frequently prescribed to them. Only 22.7% (n=5) of CKD stage 5 patients received ACE-I and 30% (n=11) in CKD stage 4 patients as compared to 53.4% (n=7) in CKD patients stage 3. This review shows that DN patients were referred late to the nephrologists and the overall disease management was suboptimal. Antihypertensive requirement was also increased and ACEIs were less frequently prescribed in the advanced diabetic nephropathy patients.
Study site: Nephrology Clinic, Hospital Sultan Ahmad Shah, Temerloh, Pahang, Malaysia
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common diagnosis among critically ill patients. Although the etiology of AKI will determine the appropriate initial management, the definitive management of established AKI is still debatable. This is a retrospective, observational, single-center analysis of a cohort of patients referred to the nephrology unit for AKI from 1st August 2010 to 31st January 2011. Those patients with indications for dialysis were treated with continuous renal replacement therapy, intermittent hemodialysis or stiff-catheter peritoneal dialysis as determined by their hemodynamic status and the technical availability of the method. The 30-day mortality rate, renal outcomes and independent prognostic factors were analyzed statistically. Seventy-five patients were reviewed. The mean age was 52.9 ± 14.5 years. Two-thirds were males and 75% were Malays. 53.3% were referred from intensive wards. Pre-renal AKI and intra-renal AKI were diagnosed in 21.3% and 73.3% patients, respectively. Sepsis was the most common cause (n = 59). The pathogens were successfully cultured in 42.3% of the cases. The median urea and creatinine were 30.4 [interquartile range (IQR) 20.3] mmol/L and 474 (IQR 398.0) μmol/L, respectively. Seventy-six percent had metabolic acidosis. Oliguria was only noted in 38.7% of the patients. Sixty percent (n = 45) of the referrals were treated with conventional, intermittent hemodialysis and 22.7% (n = 17) with continuous veno-venous hemofiltration. The 30-day mortality rate was 28%, and was higher in intensive wards (37.5% versus 17.1%). Thirty-one percent (n = 20) had complete recovery, 17 (26.6%) had partial recovery without dialysis and seven (10.9%) became dialysis dependent. The 30-day mortality rate was 28%. Referral from intensive wards was the only significant poor prognostic factor in our patients and not the dialysis modalities.
Cardiovascular (CV) event is the most common cause of death in dialysis patients. Both traditional and nontraditional CV risk factors related to malnutrition, inflammation, and anemia are commonly found in this population. This study was conducted to evaluate the burden factors of CV risk factors and its management in our regularly dialyzed patients. It was a single-center, cross-sectional analysis of prevalent intermittent hemodialysis (IHD) and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients followed up in our hospital. Both the traditional and non-traditional CV risk factors were recorded and compared between the two groups. Eighty-eight patients were recruited. Forty-five were treated with CAPD and 43 patients were treated with IHD. The mean age was 49.5 ± 15.17 years old and 54.5% were females. Eighty percent were Malay followed by Chinese (14.7%) and Indian (5.7%). Thirty-eight percent were hypertensive and 17% were diabetic. The mean age of CAPD patients was 48.9 ± 16.9 compared to 50 ± 13.5 years old for IHD patients (P > 0.05). The body mass index (BMI) of CAPD patients was 23.9 kg/m2 versus 21.7 kg/m2 of the IHD (P = 0.04). The systolic and diastolic blood pressure of CAPD patients were 158 and 89 mm Hg in comparison to 141 and 72 mm Hg in IHD patients (P <0.001) and their total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level were 5.93 mmol/L and 3.84 mmol/L versus 4.79 mmol/L and 2.52 mmol/L, respectively (P≤0.001). The CAPD patients were hyperglycemic more than IHD patients, although it was not statistically significant. All the nontraditional CV risk factors except serum albumin were comparable between the two groups. Serum albumin in CAPD patients was 35.5 g/L compared to 40.8 g/L in the IHD patients (P <0.001). In our prevalent dialysis-dependent patients, both traditional and non-traditional CV risk factors are common. Due to the prolonged and continuous glucose exposure from the peritoneal dialysis fluid, the CAPD patients had highly atherogenic serum, higher BMI, and intensified inflammation which pre-disposed them to higher CV events.
The role of end-of-life care is fundamental for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, who are known to have a high morbidity and mortality rate despite being on dialysis. This requires effective communication and shared decision-making. Thus, exploring patients' knowledge and perceptions is essential to improve the gaps in delivering end-of-life care. This study aimed to describe the knowledge and perceptions of end-of-life care among ESRD patients on hemodialysis (HD). This was a cross-sectional study involving 14 outpatient HD centers in Kuantan, Malaysia. Patients were recruited from March to June 2019. A validated questionnaire was delivered via interview-based surveys by the researcher or trained interviewers. The majority of the respondents had poor knowledge of the disease and end-of-life care. However, more than 70% of the respondents felt that it was important for them to be actively involved in medical decision-making, as well as being prepared and planning for death. End-of-life needs, which included management of symptoms and psychological, social, and spiritual support, were important to most respondents. Additionally, patients with higher educational backgrounds were observed to have higher scores for both knowledge and perceptions (P <0.05). The study found poor knowledge but acceptable perceptions among patients. This highlights the gaps in the current local approach in clinical practice to end-of-life care in ESRD.
Knowledge limitation is a major cause of the increasing number of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients in Malaysia and the world. Nurses are responsible for identifying the patients' needs to come up with appropriate discharge plans which might include educational activities. The objective of this study was to determine the baseline information (socio- demographic background, as well as medical and lifestyle histories), along with educational needs of CKD patients. A total of 116 CKD patients who attended the Nephrology Clinic of Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan were recruited. Patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected between April and May 2017. Data were obtained via semi-guided questionnaires; the patients were given enough time to complete the required items. The CKD educational needs' assessment consisted of seven domains: general information, chronic illness management, complications, self-management, medications, treatment, and financial status. Majority of the patients were men (53.4%), aged 54.65 ± 16.49 years, secondary school-finishers (49.1%), and jobless (48.3%). In terms of medical and life-style histories, most patients were diagnosed with end-stage renal disease (51.7%), hypertension (96.6%), diabetes (51.7%), and anemia (25.9%). The patients were interested to know the complications of kidney disease (57.8%), management of diseases like hypertension (58.6%), complications like edema (55.2%), indications for medication (73.3%), self-management or fluid control (37.9%), hemodialysis (37.1%), and financial status (21.6%). Thus, strengthening patient education strategies in the clinics, hospitals, and community settings should be given due attention by relevant healthcare professionals.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphism, especially the deletion/deletion (DD) genotype, is associated with the disease progression of immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy patients in various studies from both Asia Pacific and European populations. However, recent studies within the same populations were unable to reproduce the same results. Hence, we had studied the distribution of the DD genotype, the association between ACE gene polymorphism and the disease progression, and the factors (other than ACE gene polymorphism) which were involved in the disease progression of our local patients.