AAKP News of the
Month: Nominate a Physician for the Medal of Excellence!
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AAKP is now accepting nominations for the 2010 AAKP Medal of Excellence Award. This prestigious award recognizes a nephrologist who has made significant advancements and evolvements of direct patient care as well as enhanced the quality of life for kidney patients and their families.
The Award recipient is honored at the Medal of Excellence Award Dinner held Saturday, March 13, 2010, at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore, MD, in conjunction with the Renal Physician Association's Annual Meeting. Nominations must be postmarked by November 2, 2009.
Call AAKP at (800) 749-2257 or visit the AAKP Web site for more information. |
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| Blood Thinner Causes Stroke in Some Dialysis Patients |
 The blood thinner warfarin can prevent strokes in most individuals with abnormal heart rhythms. A study in the Journal of the American Society Nephrology ( JASN) found the drug may have the opposite effect in kidney disease patients on dialysis. The risk of stroke in dialysis patients taking the drug was almost three times that of patients not taking warfarin. The results suggest that warfarin should be prescribed with caution in patients with kidney failure. |
| Acute Kidney Injury Patients More Likely to Need Dialysis |
| A recent study found patients who require dialysis due to a sudden kidney injury are more likely to need dialysis later in life. Kidney injuries requiring dialysis are common among adults who receive care in hospitals, but little research had been done to observe the long-term rates of kidney disease in these patients. The results, appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, show patients with sudden kidney injuries are three times more likely to require chronic dialysis. |
| Dialysis and Your Quality of Life |
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 Dialysis is a life-saving process but it can also change your life dramatically. Diet changes, multiple medications and less time and energy can affect your health-related quality of life (HRQOL). HRQOL is your rating of your physical health, mental health and how much of a burden kidney disease is to you. Your social worker will determine your HRQOL using the KDQOL-36, a thirty-six question survey. Medicare requires the KDQOL-36 be given to dialysis patients at least once a year.
Your social worker will talk with you about your scores and can offer suggestions on how to improve them. Low HRQOL scores are linked to an increased risk of hospital stays and death, and are as good as serum albumin levels or dialysis adequacy at predicting how well you will do. Studies have found setting goals, exercising, getting more hemodialysis and treating anemia and bone disease can help improve HRQOL scores. |
| Register Now for the Next AAKP Healthline Call |
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The upcoming AAKP Healthline call, titled Anemia: Signs, Symptoms and Treatment Options, takes place Wednesday, November 4, from 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET. The call features the following information:
- Definition of anemia;
- Understanding signs and symptoms of anemia as it relates to chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients;
- Review of lab tests that diagnose anemia in CKD;
- Available treatment options for anemia.
To register for this Healthline call, please contact AAKP at (800) 749-2257 or register online. |
| Many New ESRD Patients Haven't Seen a Nephrologist |
 The USRDS (United States Renal Data System) has released its data for 2007 and some of the results are disappointing. Forty-three percent of new end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients had not seen a nephrologist, 90 percent did not receive dietary counseling and 71 percent didn't receive erythropoietin-stimulating agents (ESAs) prior to dialysis. The ESRD population hit a new high with 527,283 patients but the number of new cases remained the same.
According to the report, "Planning for the transition to ESRD is poor, and the Medicare CKD education benefit, included in the 2008 Medicare Improvement for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA), needs to address the selection of patient modality and dialysis access, preventative kidney transplantation and cardiovascular risk factors." |
| Contribute to AAKP When You Shop Online |
 Here's an easy way to raise money for the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP). Every time you shop online at your favorite stores you could be saving money and earning a donation for AAKP.
Our new toolbar, developed by GoodSearch & GoodShop, takes just a few seconds to download. More than 1,300 top stores including Apple, Best Buy, Gap, PetSmart, and Staples are pitching in and will donate a percentage of each sale to AAKP. The GoodSearch toolbar also includes a search box which is powered by Yahoo. Each time you search the web, about a penny is donated to AAKP!
There's no easier way to help AAKP. Please spread the word!
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