Hideaki Oka

Long-term outcomes of idiopathic membranous nephropathy in Japanese patients treated with low-dose cyclophosphamide and prednisolone

BACKGROUND Treatment with cyclophosphamide and steroids for idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) is effective in Caucasian patients, but the cumulative cyclophosphamide dosage exceeds 10 g and includes steroid pulse therapy. Adverse effects and difficulties with repeating treatment are major limitations. We studied the long-term outcomes of low-dose cyclophosphamide and prednisolone therapy in Japanese patients, who were thought to have relatively benign IMN compared with Caucasian patients. METHODS This is a prospective cohort study of 103 consecutive Japanese patients with IMN and nephrotic syndrome. Patients were treated with cyclophosphamide (50 mg/day for the first 3 months and 25 mg/day for the next 3 months) and prednisolone (30 mg/day for the first week and the dosage was gradually tapered to withdraw by 2 years). Additional therapies were allowed for initial treatment failure or relapse. RESULTS With a mean observation period of 8.5 years, 90 patients (87.4%) achieved proteinuria of <1 g/day and 78 (75.7%) achieved complete remission. A total of 27 patients did not respond to initial treatment and 30 patients had relapses after remission. Of these patients, 39 received additional therapies. At the last observation, 12 patients had developed renal insufficiency (S-Cr >1.5 mg/dL) but only 2 patients had reached renal death. Multivariate analysis revealed that the duration without remission was the strongest risk factor for renal prognosis. There were 14 deaths, and 8 patients developed cancers during the observation period. CONCLUSION Treating nephrotic IMN in Japanese patients with low-dose cyclophosphamide and prednisolone is beneficial for long-term renal prognosis with relatively few adverse effects.

Cholesterol crystal embolism induced by direct factor Xa inhibitor: A first case report

An 80-year-old man presented at our hospital with renal failure. He had been treated with edoxaban, an oral direct factor Xa inhibitor, for deep vein thrombosis for 10 months prior to admission. Although the pulses in his bilateral pedal arteries were palpable, cyanosis was present in the bilateral toes. Laboratory data indicated azotemia and eosinophilia. A skin biopsy confirmed a diagnosis of cholesterol crystal embolism (CCE). Because no invasive vascular procedure was performed, we assumed that CCE was related to edoxaban. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report suggesting CCE induced by an Xa inhibitor.

Better Oral Hygiene Habits Are Associated With a Lower Incidence of Peritoneal Dialysis-Related Peritonitis: Oral Hygiene and Peritonitis

Some peritoneal dialysis (PD)‐related peritonitis cases are thought to be caused by the pathogens in the oral cavity; however, the relationship between peritonitis and oral hygiene habits is unclear. In this study, we retrospectively examined the relationship between oral hygiene habits and peritonitis in patients who agreed to a questionnaire survey. Of the 75 patients, 37 patients developed PD‐related peritonitis during the observation period. Peritonitis‐free survival was significantly higher in patients who spent more time on oral hygiene daily and in patients who replaced their toothbrush more frequently (P < 0.05). According to multivariable analysis, increased daily oral hygiene duration and more frequent toothbrush replacement were associated with a significantly (P < 0.01) lower risk for peritonitis (hazard ratio [HR] 0.37 [95% CI, 0.18–0.77] and HR 0.35 [95% CI, 0.17–0.70], respectively). In conclusion, PD patients with superior oral hygiene habits showed a lower risk for PD‐related peritonitis.

Modified simple peritoneal wall anchor technique (PWAT) in peritoneal dialysis

♦ Background: Outflow obstruction, a common complication in patients with peritoneal dialysis (PD), usually results in unnecessary catheter removal or replacement. This study describes a modified simple method of anchoring a PD catheter on the anterior peritoneal wall without using a laparoscopic system (peritoneal wall anchor technique, PWAT). ♦ Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of consecutive PD catheter insertions, and compared the catheter survival rate between the traditional method and the modified simple PWAT. The traditional method was used in 54 cases and the modified simple PWAT was used in 17 cases. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of surgical catheter repair because of outflow obstruction by day 365. The secondary endpoint was the occurrence of catheter migration with obstruction requiring any interventions, including the alpha-replacement method by day 365. Catheter survival was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier survival curves. ♦ Results: Migration-free catheter survival was significantly (p = 0.02) higher in the PWAT group (100%, 17/17) than in the traditional group (72.2%, 39/54). Catheter survival without surgical repair or cessation of PD was also significantly (p = 0.04) higher in the PWAT group (100%, 17/17) than in the traditional group (77.8%, 42/54). Similarly, migration-free and surgery-free catheter survival rates in cases with a straight-type catheter in the PWAT group were significantly higher than those in cases with a straight-type catheter in the traditional group. ♦ Conclusions: Our results suggest that the modified simple PWAT provides a better catheter survival rate than the traditional method by preventing catheter migration with obstruction in PD.