No abstract

No abstract

Background: Hyperkalemia is common in patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis. However, few studies have examined the association between serum potassium level and mortality. Methods: This study used annual cohorts of hemodialysis patients during 2007-2010. To determine hyperkalemia prevalence, monthly hyperkalemia was defined as serum potassium level ≥5.5 mEq/l; prevalence was calculated as a ratio of hyperkalemia episodes to follow-up time, reported separately by long and short interdialytic interval. To determine the impact of hyperkalemia on mortality, patients in the 2010 cohort were followed from first potassium measurement until death or a censoring event; hyperkalemia was defined, sequentially, by potassium levels 5.5-6.0 mEq/l at 0.1 mEq/l intervals. Time-dependent Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to estimate the association between hyperkalemia and mortality. Results: The 4 annual cohorts ranged from 28,774 to 36,888 patients. Mean age was approximately 63 years, about 56% were men, 51% were white and 44% had end-stage renal disease caused by diabetes. Hyperkalemia prevalence was consistently estimated at 16.3-16.8 events per 100 patient-months. Prevalence on the day after the long interdialytic interval was 2.0-2.4 times as high as on the day after the short interval. Hyperkalemia, when defined as serum potassium ≥5.7 mEq/l, was associated with all-cause mortality (adjusted hazards ratio (AHR) 1.13, 95% CI 1.01-1.28, p = 0.037, vs. <5.7 mEq/l) after adjustment. AHRs increased progressively as the hyperkalemia threshold increased, reaching 1.37 (95% CI 1.16-1.62, p < 0.0001) for ≥6.0 mEq/l. Conclusions: The long interdialytic interval was associated with increased likelihood of hyperkalemia. Hyperkalemia was associated with all-cause mortality beginning at serum potassium ≥5.7 mEq/l; mortality risk estimates increased ordinally through ≥6.0 mEq/l, suggesting a threshold at which serum potassium becomes substantially more dangerous.

No abstract

SummaryStudies examining real-world effectiveness of osteoporosis therapies are beset by limitations due to confounding by indication. By evaluating longitudinal changes in fracture incidence, we demonstrated that osteoporosis therapies are effective in reducing fracture risk in real-world practice settings.IntroductionOsteoporosis therapies have been shown to reduce incidence of vertebral and non-vertebral fractures in placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials. However, information on the real-world effectiveness of these therapies is limited.MethodsWe examined fracture risk reduction in older, post-menopausal women treated with osteoporosis therapies. Using Medicare claims, we identified 1,278,296 women age ≥ 65 years treated with zoledronic acid, oral bisphosphonates, denosumab, teriparatide, or raloxifene. Fracture incidence rates before and after treatment initiation were described to understand patients’ fracture risk profile, and fracture reduction effectiveness of each therapy was evaluated as a longitudinal change in incidence rates.ResultsFracture incidence rates increased during the period leading up to treatment initiation and were highest in the 3-month period most proximal to treatment initiation. Fracture incidence rates following treatment initiation were significantly lower than before treatment initiation. Compared with the 12-month pre-index period, there were reductions in clinical vertebral fractures for denosumab (45%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 39–51%), zoledronic acid (50%; 95% CI 47–52%), oral bisphosphonates (24%; 95% CI 22–26%), and teriparatide (72%; 95% CI 69–75%) during the subsequent 12 months. Relative to the first 3 months after initiation, clinical vertebral fractures were reduced for denosumab (51%; 95% CI 42–59%), zoledronic acid (25%; 95% CI 17–32%), oral bisphosphonates (23%; 95% CI 20–26%), and teriparatide (64%; 95% CI 58–69%) during the subsequent 12 months.ConclusionIn summary, reductions in fracture incidence over time were observed in cohorts of patients treated with osteoporosis therapies.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s11657-018-0439-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.