The National Kidney Foundation's Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (KDOQI) has provided evidence-based guidelines for all stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and related complications since 1997. The 2015 update of the KDOQI Clinical Practice Guideline for Hemodialysis Adequacy is intended to assist practitioners caring for patients in preparation for and during hemodialysis. The literature reviewed for this update includes clinical trials and observational studies published between 2000 and March 2014. New topics include high-frequency hemodialysis and risks; prescription flexibility in initiation timing, frequency, duration, and ultrafiltration rate; and more emphasis on volume and blood pressure control. Appraisal of the quality of the evidence and the strength of recommendations followed the Grading of Recommendation Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Limitations of the evidence are discussed and specific suggestions are provided for future research.

Solid organ transplant recipients (SOTr) with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) are expected to have poorer outcomes compared to nontransplant patients because of immunosuppression and comorbidities. The clinical characteristics of 47 SOTr (38 kidneys and 9 nonkidney organs) were compared to 100 consecutive hospitalized nontransplant controls. Twelve of 47 SOTr managed as outpatients were subsequently excluded from the outcome analyses to avoid potential selection bias. Chronic kidney disease (89% vs 57% P = .0007), diabetes (66% vs 33% P = .0007), and hypertension (94% vs 72% P = .006) were more common in the 35 hospitalized SOTr compared to controls. Diarrhea (54% vs 17%, P < .0001) was more frequent in SOTr. Primary composite outcome (escalation to intensive care unit, mechanical ventilation, or in‐hospital all‐cause mortality) was comparable between SOTr and controls (40% vs 48%, odds ratio [OR] 0.72 confidence interval [CI] [0.33‐1.58] P = .42), despite more comorbidities in SOTr. Acute kidney injury requiring renal replacement therapy occurred in 20% of SOTr compared to 4% of controls (OR 6 CI [1.64‐22] P = .007). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that increasing age and clinical severity were associated with mortality. Transplant status itself was not associated with mortality.

Concerns about adverse effects of calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) have prompted development of protocols that minimize their use. Whereas previous CNI withdrawal trials in heterogeneous cohorts showed unacceptable rates of acute rejection (AR), we hypothesized that we could identify individuals capable of tolerating CNI withdrawal by targeting immunologically quiescent kidney transplant recipients. The Clinical Trials in Organ Transplantation-09 Trial was a randomized, prospective study of nonsensitized primary recipients of living donor kidney transplants. Subjects received rabbit antithymocyte globulin, tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and prednisone. Six months post-transplantation, subjects without de novo donor-specific antibodies (DSAs), AR, or inflammation at protocol biopsy were randomized to wean off or remain on tacrolimus. The intended primary end point was the change in interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy score between implantation and 24-month protocol biopsies. Serially collected urine CXCL9 ELISA results were correlated with outcomes. The study was terminated prematurely because of unacceptable rates of AR (4 of 14) and/or de novo DSAs (5 of 14) in the tacrolimus withdrawal arm. Positive urinary CXCL9 predated clinical detection of AR by a median of 15 days. Analyses showed that .16 HLA-DQ epitope mismatches and pretransplant, peripheral blood, donor-reactive IFN-g ELISPOT assay results correlated with development of DSAs and/or AR on tacrolimus withdrawal. Although data indicate that urinary CXCL9 monitoring, epitope mismatches, and ELISPOT assays are potentially informative, complete CNI withdrawal must be strongly discouraged in kidney transplant recipients who are receiving standard-of-care immunosuppression, including those who are deemed to be immunologically quiescent on the basis of current clinical and laboratory criteria.

De novo donor specific antibody (dnDSA) is associated with antibody mediated rejection (AMR) and allograft loss, yet the allograft histology associated with dnDSA remains unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the allograft histology associated with dnDSA in patients with serial surveillance biopsies. We retrospectively studied adult conventional solitary kidney transplant recipients from 10/2007–5/2014. DnDSA was new DSA with MFI >1000. The incidence of dnDSA was 7.0%(54/771) over mean follow-up of 4.2±1.9 years. Patients with dnDSA had reduced death-censored allograft survival (87.0% vs. 97.0% no dnDSA, p<0.01). 94% of patients received a biopsy after dnDSA (mean of 3 biopsies/patient). AMR was present in 25.0% and 52.9% of patients at dnDSA detection and at 1 year, respectively. Patients with both class I and II dnDSA had the highest rate of allograft loss. The higher the sum MFI at dnDSA detection, the higher the incidence of AMR. In conclusion, patients with dnDSA without AMR at time of detection may benefit from a follow-up biopsy within 1 year because AMR can be missed initially. Additionally, the dnDSA class and sum MFI at baseline appears to be prognostic. The higher the sum MFI of dnDSA at baseline, the higher the incidence of AMR.

Thus, ischemic changes are associated with the activation of complement. Complement activation may in turn promote tissue injury and provide a potential target for future treatment.