WASHINGTON— Dialysis patients whose mental health deteriorates over time have an increased risk of developing heart problems and dying prematurely, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).

Additional research should investigate whether caring for kidney disease patients’ mental health may help prevent heart complications and even death.

Research indicates that poor mental health can affect heart health. Because heart disease is the leading cause of death in kidney disease patients, Ea Wha Kang, MD, PhD (Ilsan Hospital, in Gyeonggi-do, Korea), Mark Unruh, MD (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) and their colleagues looked to see how changes in dialysis patients’ mental health relate to their heart health and longevity.

The study included 1,846 dialysis patients who were enrolled in a clinical trial called the Hemodialysis Study. The investigators assessed patients’ mental health at the start of the study and each year for three years through surveys and questionnaires.

Patients who had lower mental health scores over time tended to die or be hospitalized for heart problems sooner than patients with steady or rising scores. Specifically, their survival time decreased by 5.8 percent and their time to first hospitalization due to heart problems decreased by 7.6 percent.

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CUTTACK: Uncertainty prevails over the sustainability of kidney transplant facility that was recently launched at SCB Medical College and Hospital because of inadequate number of doctors and paramedics and lack of infrastructure.

The kidney transplant facility was started in the Urology department in March. Till now, four successful kidney transplants have been carried out at the Urology ward of the hospital, while 70 others are in the waiting.

The 30-bed urology department is functioning with just three doctors and three senior residents while the requirement is much more. The existing team of doctors is not only handling the OPD, indoor patients but also conducting the transplants. Also, the department provides M.Ch course (a post-doctoral course) that adds to the burden of the faculty. "The department has one professor, an associate professor, one assistant professor and three senior resident doctors. With this handful of doctors we are managing everything, including the renal transplants," said a hospital staff.

According to sources, the department had proposed for appointment of one associate and one assistant professor in urology and two anaesthesiologists. Though the government has cleared the proposal, recruitment is yet to start. The department is also facing acute shortage of paramedic staff.

A dedicated team of trained nurses and pharmacists are required to handle the renal transplants but the department lacks adequate manpower. The department at least needs eight trained nurses and four pharmacists to handle ICU patients. "Nurses are allotted on a rotation basis to different wards so there is a severe shortage of trained nurses in the department to handle the patients, who undergo renal transplants," said a doctor.

The hospital insiders are blaming the authorities for the lackadaisical approach in appointing adequate manpower. "With this acute shortage of manpower, it is difficult to sustain the renal transplant facility in the hospital," a doctor said.

Meanwhile, Director of Medical Education and Training (DMET) has informed that steps are being atken to appoint more manpower for the ward. "We have already appointed four senior resident doctors in the urology department to handle the renal transplant surgeries. If required, we will definitely take steps to appoint more doctors. Similarly, steps are being taken to appoint trained paramedic staff," said P K Das, DMET. The SCB provides renal transplant at an affordable cost of Rs 1.5 lakh while the treatment costs over Rs 6 lakh in private hospitals.

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Dilys Audrey Whyte, MD, has joined Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center’s new Division of Pediatric Nephrology.

Whyte will evaluate pediatric patients with renal disease and hypertensions at Good Samaritan's Center for Pediatrict Specialty Care in Babylon.

An experienced physician, Whyte has more than 10 years of experience as a physician, director and professor in the field of pediatrics and nephrology at Winthrop University Hospital, Stony Brook University Medical Center and Good Samaritan Hospital.

Whyte, a resident of Coram, has completed extensive research in renal development with Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yale University and the National Kidney Foundation. She's also published articles dealing with acute renal failure and kidney disease in children.

After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Yale University, Whyte received her medical degree from SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine.  Following a residency at Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, she completed a fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine. She's the recipient of a Champion’s award from the NephCure Foundation.

Whyte is currently a member of the National Kidney Foundation of New York and New Jersey, American Society of Pediatric Nephrology and the International Pediatric Nephrology Association.

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Beijing (Reuters). Cinco personas en el sur de China han sido acusadas por daño intencional en el caso de un adolescente que vendió un riñón para comprar un iPhone y un iPad, informó el viernes la agencia de noticias oficial Xinhua.

Los cinco acusados incluían a un cirujano que extrajo el riñón del joven de 17 años en abril del año pasado. El adolescente, identificado sólo por su apellido Wang, ahora sufre deficiencia renal, dijo Xinhua, citando a los fiscales en la ciudad de Chenzhou, en la provincia de Hunan.

Según el reporte de Xinhua, uno de los acusados recibió cerca de 220.000 yuanes (unos 35.000 dólares) para arreglar el trasplante. Le pagó a Wang 22.000 yuanes y dividió el resto con el cirujano, los otros tres acusados y otro personal médico.

El reporte no indicó quién recibió y pagó por el riñón.

El adolescente era de Anhui, una de las provincias más pobres de China, de donde sus habitantes frecuentemente se van para encontrar trabajo y una mejor vida en otros lugares.

Compró un iPhone y un iPad y cuando la madre le preguntó de dónde había sacado el dinero, admitió haber vendido un riñón.

APPLE EN CHINA
Los productos de Apple son muy populares en China, pero están fuera de alcance de muchos chinos. Los precios de los iPhones arrancan en los 3.988 yuanes (633 dólares) y los iPads se venden a partir de 2.988 yuanes (474 dólares).

La deficiencia renal de Wang se está deteriorando, informó Xinhua citando a los fiscales.

TURISMO DE TRASPLANTE
Solo una porción de las personas que necesitan trasplantes de órganos en China puede conseguirlos, lo que genera un “turismo de trasplante”, donde los pacientes viajan a otros países para realizar ese tipo de operaciones, y un mercado negro de órganos humanos.

China prohibió el tráfico de órganos humanos en el 2007, informó Xinhua. Otros sospechosos involucrados en el caso aún están siendo investigados. (Reporte de Terril Yue Jones, Editado en español por Lucila Sigal)

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