Objective:To investigate the volume management of intermittent veno-venous hemofiltration (IVVH) guided by critical care ultrasound in the treatment of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with heart failure (HF).Methods:A total of 216 patients with HF and AKI treated with IVVH in the coronary care unit (CCU) of the Third Central Hospital of Tianjin from April 2019 to June 2022 were selected as the study subjects, the patients were randomly divided into conventional guidance group (107 cases) and ultrasound guidance group (109 cases). According to the recovery of renal function, IVVH was performed 12 hours every day or 12 hours every other day. The conventional guidance group selected the conventional method to formulate IVVH prescription, and the ultrasound guidance group used critical care ultrasound to adjust the treatment parameters of IVVH on the basis of the conventional guidance group. Respiratory variation index (RVI) of inferior vena cava (IVC), right left ventricular end-diastolic transverse area ratio, early diastolic peak mitral flow velocity/mitral annulus velocity peak (E/E'), aortic flow velocity time integral (VTI), cardiac output (CO), bilateral lung ultrasound B-line range, bilateral renal interlobar arteries resistance index (RI) were recorded before and 3, 6, 9 hours after each treatment. The net dehydration rate was adjusted in real time according to the comprehensive results. Urine volume, serum creatinine (SCr), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), blood B-type brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), β 2-microglobulin (β 2-MG) and cystatin C (Cys C) levels of patients in both groups were monitored before and 3, 7 and 10 days after initial treatment, and renal function recovery and clinical prognostic indexes of patients in both groups were recorded. Results:The dehydration rate of the ultrasound guidance group was slow at the beginning of IVVH, and gradually increased after 6 hours, and the overall dehydration rate was significantly slower than that of the conventional guidance group. In the ultrasound guidance group using critical care ultrasound, the RVI gradually increased, the right left ventricular end-diastolic area ratio gradually decreased, the E/E' ratio gradually decreased, and the range of B-line of bilateral lungs gradually decreased, RI of bilateral renal interlobar arteries decreased. At 3, 7 and 10 days after the first IVVH, renal function related indexes in both groups were significantly improved compared with before treatment, and the decline rate of β 2-MG and Cys C in the ultrasound guidance group was faster than that in the conventional guidance group at early (3 days) [β 2-MG (mg/L): 3.69±1.31 vs. 3.99±1.45, Cys C (mg/L): 2.91±0.95 vs. 3.14±0.96, both P < 0.05], urine volume, SCr and eGFR at 7 days were also significantly improved compared with the conventional guidance group [24-hour urine volume (mL): 1 128.23±153.92 vs. 1 015.01±114.18, SCr (μmol/L): 145.86±32.25 vs. 155.64±28.42, eGFR (mL/min): 50.26±11.24 vs. 46.51±10.61, all P < 0.05]. The time of SCr recovery, the time of reaching polyuria, the total time of IVVH treatment, the time of non-invasive mechanical ventilation and the time of living in CCU in the ultrasound guidance group were shorter than those in the conventional guidance group. The incidences of hypotension, long-term RRT, incidence of major cardiovascular adverse event (MACE) and at 28-day mortality were all lower than those in the conventional guidance group. Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed that the 28-day cumulative survival rate in the ultrasound guidance group was significantly lower than that in the conventional guidance group (Log-Rank test: χ 2 = 3.903, P = 0.048). Conclusion:The strategy of IVVH guided by critical care ultrasound in the treatment of HF with AKI has unique advantages.

Ureteral artery fistula (UAF) is a rare complication after long-term indwelling of ureteral stent. In this study, two cases were presented. Both of them underwent pelvic tumor surgery and radiotherapy, and had a history of cutaneous terminal ureterostomy and long-term indwelling of ureteral stents. The first case, a 52-year-old female, was admitted to hospital because of intermittent bleeding from ureteral dermostomy for 1 week on April 2, 2020. CT examination revealed hematocele in the left upper urinary tract, and left nephrectomy was performed.However, bleeding still presented and the distal ureteral resection was performed at the same time, and partial ureteral was ligated. Postoperative diagnostic was ureteral artery fistula. After 8 months of follow-up, no recurrent bleeding presented. Another case, a 82-year-old male, was admitted to hospital because of bleeding at the ureteral dermostomy for an hour on June 15, 2020. Contrast enhanced CT examination revealed intersecting of the left ureter and common iliac artery, and interventional surgery was performed, by which UAF was diagnosed. Embolization of left internal iliac artery and stent implantation of common iliac artery and external iliac artery were performed intraoperatively. The bleeding stopped immediately after the operation, and there was no further bleeding during follow-up of 6 months.