Fasting during Ramadan is prohibited when an individual's health is endangered. Little work has been published in this direction in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We aimed to evaluate the impact of fasting during Ramadan on the renal function of patients with CKD, adjusting for the initial degree of renal impairment. We prospectively studied 60 patients with CKD (35 females; mean age 45.6 ± 15.8 years). All study patients were older than 15 years, being followed-up at the nephrology clinic for more than six months, having a stable CKD during the preceding six months and who had fasted during Ramadan the previous year. Patients who had a medical contra-indication for fasting were excluded from the study [severe or resistant arterial hypertension, insulin-requiring diabetes, acute renal failure (ARF), active renal disease, repetitive urolithiasis or terminal chronic renal failure]. Statistical analysis was performed in collaboration with the epidemiology lab at the Fez Medical School using the SPSS software version 17. Three of the study patients developed ARF in the first week and four of them at the end of the month of the study period. The risk of developing ARF was significantly higher for patients with baseline creatinine clearance of <60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 . However, the small sample size does not allow us to draw any firm conclusions on fasting during Ramadan in stable CKD patients. Studies on larger numbers of patients are recommended.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a rare but life-threatening complication of pregnancy. The aim of this paper is to study the characteristics of acute AKI in pregnancy and to emphasize on its management modalities in Moroccan hospitals. This is a national prospective study performed over six months from July 1 to December 31 2010 on AKI developing in pregnant patients, both preand post-partum period. Patients with pre-existing kidney disease were excluded from the study. Outcome was considered unfavorable when complete recovery of renal function was not achieved and/or maternal death occurred. Forty-four patients were included in this study. They were 29.6 ± 6 years old and mostly illiterate (70.6%). Most AKI occurred in the post-partum period, with 66% of the cases occurring in those who did not receive antenatal care. The main etiologies were pre-eclampsia (28 cases), hemorrhagic shock (six cases) and septic events (five cases). We noted three cases of acute fatty liver, one case of obstructive kidney injury and one case of lupus nephritis. Hemodialysis was necessary in 17 (38.6%) cases. The outcome was favorable in 29 patients. The maternal mortality rate was 11.4%. Two poor prognostic factors were identified: Age over 38 years and sepsis. AKI is a severe complication of pregnancy in developing countries. Its prevention necessitates the improvement of the sanitary infrastructure and the establishment of the obligatory antenatal care.

No abstract