Background and objectives High body mass index appears protective in hemodialysis patients, but uncertainty prevails regarding which components of body composition, fat or lean body mass, are primarily associated with survival. (FTIs), which are the respective tissue masses normalized to height squared, relative to an age-and sex-matched healthy population. The relationship between LTI and FTI and all-cause mortality was studied by Kaplan-Meier analysis, multivariate Cox regression, and smoothing spline ANOVA logistic regression.Results In 37,345 hemodialysis patients, median (25th-75th percentile) LTI and FTI were 12.2 (10.3-14.5) and 9.8 (6.6-12.4) kg/m 2 , respectively. Median (25th-75th percentile) follow-up time was 266 (132-379) days; 3458 (9.2%) patients died during follow-up. Mortality was lowest with both LTI and FTI in the 10th-90th percentile (reference group) and significantly higher at the lower LTI and FTI extreme (hazard ratio [HR], 3.37; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 2.94 to 3.87; P,0.001). Survival was best with LTI between 15 and 20 kg/m 2 and FTI between 4 and 15 kg/m 2 (probability of death during follow-up: ,5%). When taking the relation between both compartments into account, the interaction was significant (P=0.01). Higher FTI appeared protective in patients with low LTI (HR, 3.37; 95% CI, 2.94 to 3.87; P,0.001 at low LTI-low FTI, decreasing to HR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.47 to 2.17; P,0.001 at low LTI-high FTI).Conclusions This large international study indicates best survival in patients with both LTI and FTI in the 10th-90th percentiles of a healthy population. In analyses of body composition, both lean tissue and fat tissue compartments and also their relationship should be considered.

ObjectiveTo compare prognostic results in patients with gastric stump cancer (GSC) versus those with primary gastric cancer (PGC). Summary Background DataGastric stump carcinomas have often been described as having low resectability rates and a poor prognosis. MethodsResults of surgical treatment of 50 patients with GSC were compared with that of 516 patients with PGC. ResultsThe resectability rate was 94% for GSC patients and 96.5% for PGC patients, without significant differences in terms of postoperative complications, death rate, and median survival time (31.6 vs. 32.9 months). The multivariate analysis showed an independent prognostic effect for R0 resection, pT1 and pT2 category, and age older than 65 years. ConclusionThe prognosis after resection and adequate lymphadenectomy does not differ between patients with GSC and PGC.

BackgroundSeasonal mortality differences have been reported in US hemodialysis (HD) patients. Here we examine the effect of seasons on mortality, clinical and laboratory parameters on a global scale.MethodsDatabases from the international Monitoring Dialysis Outcomes (MONDO) consortium were queried to identify patients who received in-center HD for at least 1 year. Clinics were stratified by hemisphere and climate zone (tropical or temperate). We recorded mortality and computed averages of pre-dialysis systolic blood pressure (pre-SBP), interdialytic weight gain (IDWG), serum albumin, and log C-reactive protein (CRP). We explored seasonal effects using cosinor analysis and adjusted linear mixed models globally, and after stratification.ResultsData from 87,399 patients were included (northern temperate: 63,671; northern tropical: 7,159; southern temperate: 13,917; southern tropical: 2,652 patients). Globally, mortality was highest in winter. Following stratification, mortality was significantly lower in spring and summer compared to winter in temperate, but not in tropical zones. Globally, pre-SBP and IDWG were lower in summer and spring as compared to winter, although less pronounced in tropical zones. Except for southern temperate zone, serum albumin levels were higher in winter. CRP levels were highest in winter.ConclusionSignificant global seasonal variations in mortality, pre-SBP, IDWG, albumin and CRP were observed. Seasonal variations in mortality were most pronounced in temperate climate zones.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12882-015-0129-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Reports from a United States cohort of chronic hemodialysis patients suggested that weight loss, a decline in pre-dialysis systolic blood pressure, and decreased serum albumin may precede death. However, no comparative studies have been reported in such patients from other countries. Here we analyzed dynamic changes in these parameters in hemodialysis patients and included 3593 individuals from 5 Asian countries; 35,146 from 18 European countries; 8649 from Argentina; and 4742 from the United States. In surviving prevalent patients, these variables appeared to have notably different dynamics than in patients who died. While in all populations the interdialytic weight gain, systolic blood pressure, and serum albumin levels were stable in surviving patients, these indicators declined starting more than a year ahead in those who died with the dynamics similar irrespective of gender and geographic region. In European patients, C-reactive protein levels were available on a routine basis and indicated that levels of this acute-phase protein were low and stable in surviving patients but rose sharply before death. Thus, relevant fundamental biological processes start many months before death in the majority of chronic hemodialysis patients. Longitudinal monitoring of these dynamics may help to identify patients at risk and aid the development of an alert system to initiate timely interventions to improve outcomes.

Background: Systematic collection and analysis of global hemodialysis patient data may help to improve patient outcomes. Methods: The MONitoring Dialysis Outcomes (MONDO) initiative comprises data from eight dialysis providers worldwide. Data are combined into one repository. Extensive procedures are employed to merge data across countries and providers. Results: The MONDO database comprises longitudinal data of currently 128,000 hemodialysis patients from 26 countries on five continents. Here we report data from 62,345 incident hemodialysis patients. We found lower catheter rates in South-East Asia and Australia, lower hemoglobin levels in South-East Asia, and a higher prevalence of diabetes in North America. Longitudinal analyses suggest that there is a decline in interdialytic weight gain and serum phosphorus and an increasing neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio before death in all regions studied. Conclusions: While organizationally lean and low-cost, MONDO is the largest global dialysis database initiative to date, with a particular focus on high longitudinal data density and geographical diversity.