http://www.nephrologynews.com/rss/news/renal The latest renal news from Nephrology News & Issues Indiana-based Vasc-Alert announced that it has created a new module that complements its vascular access surveillance technology Vasc-Alert Referral helps create a referral form and tracks intervention results to help dialysis center staff see the complete life cycle of a vascular access site used for hemodialysis treatments. http://www.nephrologynews.com/vascular-access/article/new-vasc-alert-module-creates-referral-form-tracks-intervention-results-for-esrd-patients 5/17/2012 2:00:00 PM Most patients with end-stage renal disease experience a drop in hemoglobin after hospitalization, and recovery can be slow, according to data presented at the National Kidney Foundation 2012 Spring Clinical Meetings. http://www.nephrologynews.com/clinical/article/esrd-patients-face-long-hemoglobin-recovery-time-after-hospitalizations 5/17/2012 1:34:00 PM The 1,000th PD patient was trained in two weeks by nephrology specialists to perform PD treatment independently, the company said in a statement. http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-business/article/liberty-dialysis-enrolls-1000th-patient-in-peritoneal-dialysis-program 5/17/2012 11:26:00 AM The Renal Support Network announced that they are now accepting submissions for its 10th annual essay contest. All submissions must be authored by someone who has been diagnosed with CKD. This year"s theme is, "What small act of kindness by a health care professional made a difference in your life?" http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-community/article/rsn-accepting-submissions-for-annual-essay-contest 5/15/2012 1:42:00 PM Tissue processing and medical device company CryoLife announced that it would acquire Hemosphere, the developer of the Hemodialysis Reliable Outflow (HeRO) Graft, for $17 million in cash, plus potential revenue milestone-based payments of up to $4.5 million. Hemosphere"s revenues were $5.3 million for the full year 2011. http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-business/article/cryolife-to-acquire-graft-maker-hemoshpere 5/15/2012 12:02:00 PM By an announcement on May 10, 2012, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized proposed regulations that had been announced on Oct. 18, 2011 that relaxed the federal Life Safety Code (LSC) requirements in the revised Conditions for Coverage (CfCs) that first became effective on Feb. 9, 2009. With one major exception, the final LSC requirements are identical to those proposed in October, 2011 as part of attempts to "modify, streamline, or repeal" regulations which were duplicative or http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/cms-finalizes-proposed-life-safety-code-requirements-for-dialysis-clinics 5/14/2012 4:37:00 PM Patients that receive daily, home hemodialysis are more likely to receive a kidney transplant than patients on conventional thrice-weekly dialysis, particularly in patients not on the transplant waitlist at initiation of daily home hemodialysis. http://www.nephrologynews.com/home-dialysis/article/home-dialysis-patients-more-likely-to-get-transplant-than-in-center-patients 5/13/2012 9:42:00 PM By 2030, 42% of Americans will be obese, according to estimates from a study presented at the Weight of the Nation conference in Washington, D.C. If that figure is correct, the prevalence of obesity will increase 33% over the next two decades, with 11% of Americans classified as severely obese. But slowing the projected trajectory by just 1% would save billions of dollars. http://www.nephrologynews.com/diabetes/article/study-shows-big-savings-can-be-found-in-a-small-decrease-of-the-us-obesity-prevalence 5/11/2012 2:30:00 PM According to the United States Renal Data System, in each of the first nine months of 2011 when the new payment system took effect, the share of dialysis patients who received blood transfusions increased 9 to 22% over the corresponding months in 2010, The New York Times reports http://www.nephrologynews.com/clinical/article/usrds-finds-jump-in-blood-transfusions-for-dialysis-patients 5/11/2012 10:20:00 AM New approaches to controlling blood pressure are on the horizon, according to a presentation at the 2012 National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meeting – but ultimately, the most powerful step patients can take is to improve their lifestyle, particularly reducing salt intake. http://www.nephrologynews.com/clinical/article/blood-pressure-best-managed-when-healthy-lifestyle-is-central-to-treatment 5/11/2012 1:00:00 AM http://www.nephrologynews.com/kidney-transplant/article/obesity-reduces-organ-donor-pool 5/10/2012 6:00:00 PM Living donors who are obese or overweight are more likely to sustain long-term kidney damage after donation, according to a systematic review presented at the National Kidney Foundation"s 2012 Spring Clinical Meetings. http://www.nephrologynews.com/kidney-transplant/article/kidney-function-declines-in-overweight-donors 5/10/2012 6:00:00 PM A centralized surveillance system has been established to combat the public health epidemic of chronic kidney disease open access to information, according to updates presented at the National Kidney Foundation"s. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded two teams of researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and the University of California, San Francisco, to jointly develop and implement a CKD surveillance system designed to assess the impact of CKD on the state, re http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/national-online-surveillance-system-for-chronic-kidney-disease-to-debut-this-summer 5/10/2012 6:00:00 PM An inexpensive and widely used urine dipstick test may provide an easier, more effective way to predict Acute Kidney Injury in patients with sepsis, or severe blood poisoning infections. This research is presented at the National Kidney Foundation"s Spring Clinical Meetings. http://www.nephrologynews.com/clinical/article/readily-available-urine-dipstick-can-predict-acute-kidney-injury 5/10/2012 6:00:00 PM Patients with kidney failure who received collaborative, supportive health services saw better outcomes and lowered medical costs than those who did not receive this continuity of care, according to new research based on the last three years of a Medicare pilot that was presented at the National Kidney Foundation"s Spring Clinical Meetings. http://www.nephrologynews.com/clinical/article/coordinated-care-reduces-medical-costs-and-improves-health-of-kidney-patients 5/10/2012 6:00:00 PM One failed transplant does not mean another will follow, and those who receive a second kidney have a high chance of success, according to new research presented at the National Kidney Foundation"s Spring Clinical Meetings Researchers led by Syed Jawad Sher, MD, of Indiana University School of Medicine, found no significant differences between primary and repeat transplants in terms of survival of the transplanted kidney, rejection or infection rates. The one and five year kidney graft survival http://www.nephrologynews.com/kidney-transplant/article/second-transplants-can-be-just-as-successful-as-primary-transplants 5/10/2012 6:00:00 PM General discussion about lifestyle may be effective in stabilizing and improving lab values, according to new research presented at the National Kidney Foundation"s Spring Clinical Meetings held in Washington, DC this week. http://www.nephrologynews.com/clinical/article/socializing-between-professionals-patients-in-a-dialysis-unit-can-improve-patient-health 5/10/2012 6:00:00 PM American Renal Associates Holdings Inc. and its subsidiary dialysis provider American Renal Holdings Inc. reported that revenues for the first quarter of 2012 increased almost 15% to $97.2 million, compared to $84.7 million in the same quarter last year. http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-business/article/american-renal-reports-q1-revenue-increase 5/10/2012 2:59:00 PM Patients on dialysis are subject to much more intensive medical care in the last month of life than are patients dying of cancer or heart failure, said an analysis of Medicare data that is raising concerns about the end-of-life care that patients with end-stage renal disease receive, American Medical News reports. http://www.nephrologynews.com/clinical/article/dialysis-patients-treated-aggressively-at-end-of-life 5/10/2012 2:19:00 PM Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the first batch of organizations for the new Health Care Innovation awards, which were created as part of the Affordable Care Act. The awards will support 26 innovative projects nationwide that HHS says will save money, deliver high quality medical care and enhance the health care workforce. The preliminary awardees announced are expected to reduce health spending by $254 million over the next three years. http://www.nephrologynews.com/clinical/article/first-health-care-innovation-award-winners-include-peritoneal-dialysis-project 5/9/2012 11:30:00 AM