Since 1981, the Korean Society of Nephrology began annual report on renal replacement therapy in Korea. The annual number of new patients receiving dialysis treatment in 1986 increased to 957 patients (23.3 per million population) from 825 patients (20.4 per million population) in 1985. And the total number of patients on replacement therapy increased from 1,508 patients (37.3 per million population) to 2,534 patients (61.7 per million population). 1,340 patients (32.6 per million population) of these patients were on hemodialysis, 573 patients (13.9 per million population) on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and 621 patients (15.1 per million population) on functioning renal graft as of December 31, 1986. The common causes of renal failure of new patients were chronic glomerulonephritis (41.6%) followed by diabetic nephropathy (12.6%), nypertensive nephrosclerosis (7.8%), chronic pyelonephritis (2.5%) and others. The annual mortality rate decreased from 21.9% in 1981 to 13.5 in 1986. The common causes of death in patients on dialysis therapy were cardiac (32.8%), vascular (14.7%), infective (14.7%) and social problems (11.2%) in the order of frequency. Recently, the number of patients requiring dialysis is rapidly increasing due to expanded medical insurance support for dialysis and improved economic status of our country. Therefore, it is necessary to draw up counterplan for a rapid growth of the number of new patients.
Hepatitis B/etiology ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/epidemiology/*therapy ; *Kidney Transplantation ; *Kidneys, Artificial/adverse effects ; Korea ; Multicenter Studies as Topic

A retrospective study of 223 patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) was performed to clarify the prognostic factors and the renal survival rates of the disease. One hundred twenty-two patients were followed-up for more than 6 months after their renal biopsy (mean follow-up duration: 43.0 months), and 20 of them (16.4%) had progressed to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Using univariate analysis, 8 risk factors (2 clinical and 6 histopathological findings) for developing ESRD were identified: renal insufficiency at initial presentation (serum creatinine > or = 1.5 mg/dl); heavy proteinuria(> or = 3.5 gm/day); moderate to severe histopathologic findings such as class IV/V lesions by W.H.O. classification, mesangial hypercellularity, glomerular sclerosis, interstitial infiltration, interstitial fibrosis, and tubular atrophy. In multivariate regression analysis, class IV/V lesions and renal insufficiency at initial presentation were the independent prognostic factors of IgAN. The renal survival rates were 100% at 1 year, 97.0% at 3 years, and 78.9% at 5 years. In conclusion, it seems that about 20% of IgAN patients have a risk to progress to ESRD within 5 years, and a careful follow-up is recommended especially in patients who have either renal insufficiency at the time of presentation or severe renal pathology (class IV/V lesions).
Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA/*complications/pathology ; Human ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/*epidemiology/*etiology/pathology ; Male ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVEChronic renal failure (CRF) of childhood is not rare. The prognosis of CRF is very poor because of severe systemic complications. A nation-wide survey was conducted and data of hospitalized children (younger than 14 years old) with CRF during the period of 1990 to 2002 were analyzed. The aim was to investigate the epidemiology, natural history, clinical-pathological characteristics, treatment and outcome of the hospitalized children with CRF.

METHODSQuestionnaires concerning children with CRF were designed and distributed to the doctors of 91 hospitals in China. The criterion of CRF was creatinine clearance (CCr) < 50 ml/(min x 1.73 m(2)). The data were collected and analyzed.

RESULTSFrom January 1, 1990 to December 31, 2002, 1658 hospitalized children were diagnosed as CRF. The average annual cases of childhood CRF accounted for 1.31% (ranged from 0.72% to 1.75%) of the hospitalized cases with urologic-kidney diseases. In a comparison between 1990 - 1996 and 1997 - 2002, there were significant increases in the average annual number of cases of childhood CRF and the case ratio of CRF to urologic-kidney diseases (82 +/- 27 vs. 181 +/- 45 and 0.98 +/- 0.21 vs. 1.56 +/- 0.17, respectively, P < 0.001). Complete records were available for 1268 patients. The male to female ratio was 1.49:1. The mean age at the disease onset was 8.18 years. The mean duration of pre-diagnosis of CRF was 2.53 years. In this study, the main primary renal diseases causing CRF were chronic glomerulonephritis and nephrotic syndrome (52.7%). One-fourth of all cases had congenital and hereditary renal diseases, and the majority were renal hypoplasia and dysplasia. The main manifestations of CRF were anemia, gastrointestinal disorders, edema, hypertension and growth retardation. The mean serum creatinine and BUN were 594.7 micromol/L and 39.1 mmol/L, respectively. The cases with renal function >or= grade IV accounted for 80% of all cases. By renal ultrasound scanning, one-third of CRF children were found to have renal atrophy and a part of patients had cystic disorder. Most of the cases received conservative treatment. Dialysis therapy (including 66.5% of hemodialysis and 33.5% of peritoneal) was given to 15.8% of the patients. Twenty-nine cases received renal transplantation. The rate of graft survival was 93.1%. Follow-up was carried out for to 230 cases, the mean duration of follow-up was 2.36 years. One hundred and sixty-seven patients died during hospitalization over the 13-year review period. The main causes of death were cardiac failure and infections in addition to uremia.

CONCLUSIONThe incidence of CRF in children showed an increasing trend year after year. The main age of onset of the disease was school-age. The main primary renal diseases causing CRF were acquired renal diseases. Conservative treatment was the main therapy of CRF, but renal replacement therapy was initiated in some of the cases. The obvious difference between follow-up cases and lost cases warrants the need to establish a management system of childhood CRF.

Adolescent ; Child ; China ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; etiology ; therapy ; Male ; Treatment Outcome

Renin-angiotensin system is considered important in the genesis of hypertension and development of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). The angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism has been associated with susceptibility to the development of some renal diseases. We investigated the association of ACE gene polymorphism with the progression to hypertension and ESRD in 108 patients with ADPKD. The ACE I/D polymorphism was amplified with the flanking primers by polymerase chain reaction. In patients genotyped for ACE gene polymorphism, the frequencies of DD (15+ACU-), ID (51+ACU-) and II (34+ACU-) genotypes were similar to those of the general population. Of the 108 patients, 64 (59+ACU-) developed hypertension and 24 (22+ACU-) reached ESRD at the time of study. The prevalence of hypertension was not significantly different among the three genotypes. The mean renal survival time was 53-6 yr in II genotype, 5510 yr in ID genotype and 529 yr in DD genotype which was not significantly different among them. Cumulative renal survival was not significantly different either. There was no association of ACE gene polymorphism with the prevalence of hypertension and renal survival in ADPKD. We suggest that ACE I/D polymorphism is not an important modifying gene in the progression of ADPKD.
Adult ; Aged ; Comparative Study ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; Human ; Hypertension, Renal/etiology ; Hypertension, Renal/epidemiology ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/etiology ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/epidemiology ; Korea/epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Age ; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A/genetics+ACo- ; Polycystic Kidney, Autosomal Dominant/genetics+ACo- ; Polycystic Kidney, Autosomal Dominant/epidemiology ; Polycystic Kidney, Autosomal Dominant/enzymology ; Polycystic Kidney, Autosomal Dominant/complications ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism (Genetics)+ACo- ; Prevalence

Renin-angiotensin system is considered important in the genesis of hypertension and development of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). The angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism has been associated with susceptibility to the development of some renal diseases. We investigated the association of ACE gene polymorphism with the progression to hypertension and ESRD in 108 patients with ADPKD. The ACE I/D polymorphism was amplified with the flanking primers by polymerase chain reaction. In patients genotyped for ACE gene polymorphism, the frequencies of DD (15+ACU-), ID (51+ACU-) and II (34+ACU-) genotypes were similar to those of the general population. Of the 108 patients, 64 (59+ACU-) developed hypertension and 24 (22+ACU-) reached ESRD at the time of study. The prevalence of hypertension was not significantly different among the three genotypes. The mean renal survival time was 53-6 yr in II genotype, 5510 yr in ID genotype and 529 yr in DD genotype which was not significantly different among them. Cumulative renal survival was not significantly different either. There was no association of ACE gene polymorphism with the prevalence of hypertension and renal survival in ADPKD. We suggest that ACE I/D polymorphism is not an important modifying gene in the progression of ADPKD.
Adult ; Aged ; Comparative Study ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; Human ; Hypertension, Renal/etiology ; Hypertension, Renal/epidemiology ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/etiology ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/epidemiology ; Korea/epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Age ; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A/genetics+ACo- ; Polycystic Kidney, Autosomal Dominant/genetics+ACo- ; Polycystic Kidney, Autosomal Dominant/epidemiology ; Polycystic Kidney, Autosomal Dominant/enzymology ; Polycystic Kidney, Autosomal Dominant/complications ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism (Genetics)+ACo- ; Prevalence

BACKGROUND/AIMS: A revised classification system for renal dysfunction in patients with cirrhosis was proposed by the Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative and the International Ascites Club Working Group in 2011. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of renal dysfunction according to the criteria in this proposal. METHODS: The medical records of cirrhotic patients who were admitted to Konkuk University Hospital between 2006 and 2010 were reviewed retrospectively. The data obtained at first admission were collected. Acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) were defined using the proposed diagnostic criteria of kidney dysfunction in cirrhosis. RESULTS: Six hundred and forty-three patients were admitted, of whom 190 (29.5%), 273 (42.5%), and 180 (28.0%) were Child-Pugh class A, B, and C, respectively. Eighty-three patients (12.9%) were diagnosed with AKI, the most common cause for which was dehydration (30 patients). Three patients had hepatorenal syndrome type 1 and 26 patients had prerenal-type AKI caused by volume deficiency after variceal bleeding. In addition, 22 patients (3.4%) were diagnosed with CKD, 1 patient with hepatorenal syndrome type 2, and 3 patients (0.5%) with AKI on CKD. CONCLUSIONS: Both AKI and CKD are common among hospitalized cirrhotic patients, and often occur simultaneously (16.8%). The most common type of renal dysfunction was AKI (12.9%). Diagnosis of type 2 hepatorenal syndrome remains difficult. A prospective cohort study is warranted to evaluate the clinical course in cirrhotic patients with renal dysfunction.
Acute Kidney Injury/*epidemiology/etiology/mortality ; Adult ; Aged ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/*epidemiology/etiology/mortality ; Liver Cirrhosis/complications/*diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Prospective Studies ; Severity of Illness Index ; Survival Rate

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), a common genetic disease, is characterized by the development of hypertension and end stage renal disease. An increase in the activity of the renin-angiotensin system, due to a renal ischemia caused by cyst expansion, contributes to the development of hypertension and renal failure in ADPKD. Recently, the angiotensinogen (AGT) gene, M235T, and angiotensin II type 1 receptor (ATR) gene, A1166C, polymorphisms have been associated with the susceptibility to develop hypertension and renal disease. We hypothesized that the AGT M235T and ATR A1166C polymorphisms could account for some of the variability in the progression of ADPKD. Genotyping was performed in 108 adult patients with ADPKD, and 105 normotensive healthy controls, using PCR and restriction digestion. We analyzed the effects of the AGT M235T and ATR A1166C polymorphisms on hypertension and age at the end stage renal disease (ESRD). Of the 108 patients with ADPKD, 64 (59%) had hypertension and 24 (22%) reached the ESRD. The prevalence of hypertension were; [MM+MT], [TT] genotypes, 60%, 59% (p=1.00) ; [AA], [AC+CC] genotypes, 60%, 50% respectively (p=0.54). The ages at the onset of ESRD were; [MM+MT], [TT] genotypes, 50 +/- 9 years, 56 +/- 8 years (p=0.07) ; [AA], [AC+CC] genotypes, 54 +/- 8 years, 52 +/- 14 years, respectively (p=0.07). There were no differences in the prevalence of hypertension and the ages at the ESRD in relation to the AGT M235T and ATR A1166C polymorphisms. We suggest that the AGT and ATR gene polymorphisms would not have an effect on hypertension or the ESRD in ADPKD.
Adult ; Age of Onset ; Angiotensinogen/*genetics ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Human ; Hypertension/epidemiology/etiology ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/epidemiology/etiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polycystic Kidney, Autosomal Dominant/complications/*genetics/physiopathology ; Polymorphism (Genetics) ; Prevalence ; Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 1 ; Receptors, Angiotensin/*genetics

Adult ; Aged ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Erectile Dysfunction ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; complications ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Renal Dialysis ; Risk Factors ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: The formation of urinary tract stones following renal transplantation is a rare complication. The clinical features of stones after transplantation differ from those of non-transplant patients. Renal colic or pain is usually absent and rarely resembles acute rejection. METHODS: We retrospectively studied 849 consecutive kidney transplant patients in The Rogosin Institute/The Weill-Cornell Medical Center, New York who were transplanted between 1980 and 1997 and had functioning grafts for more than 3 months, to determine the incidence of stone formation, composition, risk factors and patient outcome. RESULTS: At our center, urinary stones were diagnosed in 15 patients (1.8%) of 849 functioning renal grafts for 3 or more months. Of the 15 patients, 10 were males and 5 were females in their third and fourth decade. Eight patients received their transplant from living donors and 7 from cadaveric donors. The stones were first diagnosed between 3 and 109 months after transplantation (mean 17.8 months) and 5 patients had recurrent episodes. The stones were located in the bladder in 11 cases (73.3%), transplanted kidney in 3 cases and in multiple sites in one case. The size of stones varied from 3.4 mm to 40 mm (mean 12 mm). The composition of stones was a mixed form of calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate in 5 cases and 4 patients had infected stones consisting of struvite or mixed form of struvite and calcium phosphate. Factors predisposing to stone formation included tertiary hyperparathyroidism (n=8), hypercalciuria (n=5), recurrent urinary tract infection (n=5), hypocitraturia (n=4), and obstructive uropathy (n=2). Many cases had more than one risk factor. Clinically, painless hematuria was observed in 6 patients and dysuria without bacteriuria in 5 patients. None had renal colic or severe pain at any time. There were no changes in graft function at diagnosis and after removal of stones. Five patients passed stones spontaneously and 8 patients underwent cystoscopy for stone removal. CONCLUSION: Urinary stone formation following kidney transplantation is a rare complication (1.8%). Hyperparathyroidism, hypercalciuria, recurrent urinary tract infection and hypocitraturia are the most common risk factors, but often there are multiple factors which predispose to stone formation. To detect stones and determine their location and size, ultrasonography appears to be the most useful diagnostic tool. Prompt diagnosis, the removal of stones and stone-preventive measures can prevent adverse effects on renal graft outcome.
Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; Calculi/chemistry ; Female ; Human ; Incidence ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/surgery ; Kidney Transplantation/*adverse effects/methods ; Korea/epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Age ; Prognosis ; Risk Assessment ; Sex Distribution ; Urinary Calculi/*epidemiology/etiology

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of acute hepatitis A during a recent outbreak in Korea. Data of patients diagnosed with acute hepatitis A from 2007 to 2009 were collected from 21 tertiary hospitals retrospectively. Their demographic, clinical, and serological characteristics and their clinical outcomes were analyzed. A total of 4,218 patients (mean age 33.3 yr) were included. The median duration of admission was 9 days. The mean of the highest ALT level was 2,963 IU/L, total bilirubin was 7.3 mg/dL, prothrombin time INR was 1.3. HBsAg was positive in 3.7%, and anti-HCV positive in 0.7%. Renal insufficiency occurred in 2.7%, hepatic failure in 0.9%, relapsing hepatitis in 0.7%, and cholestatic hepatitis in 1.9% of the patients. Nineteen patients (0.45%) died or were transplanted. Complications of renal failure or prolonged cholestasis were more frequent in patients older than 30 yr. In conclusion, most patients with acute hepatitis A recover uneventfully, however, complication rates are higher in patients older than 30 yr than younger patients. Preventive strategies including universal vaccination in infants and active immunization of hepatitis A to adult population should be considered for prevention of community-wide outbreaks of hepatitis A in Korea.
Acute Disease ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cholestasis/epidemiology/etiology ; Demography ; Hepatitis A/complications/*diagnosis/mortality ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/epidemiology/etiology ; Liver Transplantation ; Middle Aged ; Morbidity ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Young Adult