Doxyl sulfate in hemodialysis vascular access. From January 2010 to June 2013, we prospectively enrolled patients undergoing angioplasty for dialysis access dysfunction. Patients were stratified into tertiles by baseline serum indoxyl sulfate levels. Study participants received clinical follow-up at 6-month intervals until June 2014. Primary end points were restenosis, thrombosis, and failure of vascular access. Median follow-up duration was 32 months. Of the 306 patients enrolled, 262 (86%) had symptomatic restenosis, 153 (50%) had access thrombosis, and 25 (8%) had access failure. In patients with graft access, free indoxyl sulfate tertiles showed a negative association with thrombosis-free patency (thrombosis-free patency rates of 54%, 38%, and 26% for low, middle, and high tertiles, respectively; P=0.001). Patients with graft thrombosis had higher free and total indoxyl sulfate levels. Using multivariate Cox regression analysis, graft thrombosis was independently predicted by absolute levels of free indoxyl sulfate (hazard ratio=1.14; P=0.01) and free indoxyl sulfate tertiles (high versus low, hazard ratio=2.41; P=0.001). Results of this study provide translational evidence that serum indoxyl sulfate is a novel risk factor for dialysis graft thrombosis after endovascular interventions....

Background. Hemodialysis (HD) patients have an increased risk of thrombosis. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), which function in vascular repair, are deficient in HD patients. Nonetheless, the relationship between EPC deficiency and thrombosis in HD patients is unknown. Methods. From January 2010 to December 2012, circulating levels of EPCs that were positive for CD34 and kinase insert domain receptor (KDR) were measured in 269 HD patients. Patients received prospective follow-ups at 6-month intervals until May 2015. The primary outcome was the composite of HD access thrombosis and systemic vascular thrombosis. Results. There were 141 thrombotic events, 50 systemic vascular thrombotic events and 116 HD access thrombotic events. We found significantly negative associations between CD34⁺ KDR⁺tertile and overall thrombotic events (low: 61%; middle: 56%; high: 40%; P = 0.02), systemic vascular thrombotic events (low: 27%; middle: 18%; high: 10%; P = 0.03) and HD access thrombotic events (low: 52%; middle: 46%; high: 36%; P = 0.02). Univariate analysis indicated that systemic vascular thrombotic events were positively associated with age, diabetes, dyslipidemia, vascular disease history, urea clearance, albumin and C-reactive protein (CRP), and negatively associated with CD34⁺ KDR⁺cell count. HD access thrombosis was positively associated with vascular disease history and CRP, and negatively associated with CD34⁺ KDR⁺cell count. Multivariate analysis indicated that a low CD34⁺ KDR⁺cell count was an independent risk factor for both types of thrombosis. Conclusions. Our study of a population of HD patients showed that a low level of circulating EPCs is associated with thrombosis.

Prescription of guideline-recommended medicines after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has been suboptimal. Tools for improving the use of medications have been developed, but they mainly targeted physicians. We evaluated the effects of reinforcement of patient and family education on the usage of guideline-recommended secondary prevention medications. This was a retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected registry of patients with ACS who were admitted to a regional teaching hospital in Taiwan between February 2015 and April 2017. The control group included 76 patients discharged before implementing the electronic-based patient and family education (PFE) system. The intervention group included 206 patients discharged after implementation. The primary outcome was the prescription rate of all four guideline-recommended drugs. Predictors of adherence were also evaluated. The study cohort included 282 ACS patients (188 men and 94 women) with a mean age of 68.5 years (standard deviation, 14.2). The intervention group patients were younger, had more family history of premature cardiovascular disease, more dyslipidemia, and underwent more reperfusion therapy. The intervention group was prescribed more guideline-recommended drugs than the control group: dual antiplatelet agents, 79.61% vs. 47.37% (p<0.001); statins, 74.76% vs. 34.21% (p<0.001); beta-blockers, 81.07% vs. 46.05% (p<0.001); angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, 62.62% vs. 38.16% (p<0.001); and a combination of all four medications, 39.32% vs. 14.47% (p<0.001). After adjusting baseline variables, the PFE system remained a significant contributor to adherence to these drugs use (P = 0.02). Reinforcement of patient education was associated with significant improvements in physicians’ adherence to guideline-recommended medical therapy after acute coronary syndrome.