Sensing Savvy

The National Kidney Federation (NKF) is the largest kidney patient association in the United Kingdom. The NKF entered the United Kingdom’s renal landscape in 1979 as a national organization when renal patients realized that individual Kidney Patient Associations (KPAs) needed to band together to have their voices heard in concert. While the current 69 KPAs remain both the ears and the eyes of the NKF, end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients or their caregivers serve as the NKF’s officers, members of its executive committee and its workforce.

On June 22nd, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it has permitted the marketing of two catheter-based devices designed to create a connection to veins and arteries in patients with chronic kidney disease who need hemodialysis.

Diabetes: Diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure. The results of the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) show that moderate exercise, a healthier diet, and weight reduction can prevent the development of type 2 diabetes in persons at risk.

A working vascular access is the lifeline for a hemodialysis patient. It is also an Achilles heel, for when it fails, another access (frequently a catheter) must be quickly placed for life preserving hemodialysis to continue. While an arteriovenous fistula (a natural conduit connecting an artery and a vein) is the preferred vascular access, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) synthetic grafts are frequently used as the second choice for a vascular access, before placing a catheter.

Over the first half of this decade, 20 million adults have gained health insurance coverage as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Yet even as the number of uninsured was reduced, millions of Americans still lack coverage.

In response to the emerging consensus among scientists and health authorities that national health priorities should emphasize disease prevention, a government-sponsored Healthy People program was established in 1979 to promote nationwide disease prevention.

Italian neurosurgeons have ushered in a new era in brain surgery when, on November 14^th, they performed their first aneurysm clipping operation with the patient awake. "Awake surgery," which until now been used by neurosurgeons for the removal of brain tumors in critical areas, has now expanded its reach to aneurysm clipping surgery. By having the patient awake during the operation, the surgical team at the Hospital S. Chiara in Trento, Italy was able to monitor not only the patient’s primary motility and sensitivity but also the control of higher and more complex cognitive functions such as language, comprehension, processing of emotions, and vision as a metal clip was meticulously applied to a middle cerebral artery to close off a cerebral aneurysm. Performing the surgery while a patient is awake also lowers intraoperative risks of neurological deficits and ventilator associated morbidities.   

On November 6th California voters went to the polls and said no to ballot initiative Proposition 8, known as the “Fair Pricing for Dialysis Act” that would have capped dialysis providers’ such as Davita Dialysis, Fresenius Medical Care and U.S. Renal Care, profits at 15 percent above what they spend on “direct patient care services costs.” It would have also required them to rebate the leftover revenue to insurance companies paying for patient procedures.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Stroke is the fifth-leading cause of death. Currently, more than 1 in 3 adults (85.6 million) live with one or more types of cardiovascular disease. Together, heart disease and stroke, along with other cardiovascular diseases, are among the most widespread and costly health problems facing the nation, accounting for approximately $320 billion in health care and related expenditures annually. Fortunately, they are also among the most preventable. Leading controllable risk factors for heart disease and stroke are:

For nearly 50 years, since 1969, the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) has been dedicated to improving the quality of life for kidney patients through education advocacy, patient engagement and the fostering of patient communities. It is a recognized leader in patient-centered education, continually developing high quality, professionally written, edited and reviewed educational pieces covering every level of kidney disease.