Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is notorious for its propensity to metastasize even after a prolonged period of remission following nephrectomy. The metastatic spread can occur months or even years after initial treatment, which necessitates a heightened level of clinical awareness and vigilance in patients with a history of renal malignancy, particularly who present with new or unexplained nasal symptoms. Although RCC most commonly metastasize to the lungs, bones and liver, its involvement in the nasal cavity is exceedingly rare, posing significant diagnostic challenges due to the non-specific nature of symptoms. We describe a case of metastatic renal cell clear cell carcinoma presenting with recurrent epistaxis and unilateral nasal obstruction. Immunohistochemistry studies play a crucial role in confirming the diagnosis and ruling out potential differential diagnoses, along with a comprehensive clinical history of the patient.

BACKGROUND

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is prevalent in patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and is associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the association of Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index with CKD among T2DM patients with concomitant NAFLD.

A single center, analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 216 T2DM patients with concomitant NAFLD. Clinical data were obtained via retrospective review of medical charts. The outcome of interest was CKD which was based on self-report obtained from medical charts or estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR)RESULTS

Higher FIB-4 index was found to be significantly associated with CKD. Patients with FIB-4 index of 1.45-3.25 (moderate risk) and >3.25 (high risk) have about 3 times higher odds of CKD. However, after controlling for the significant confounders, only those who belong to high-risk group was found to be associated with CKD.

This study has demonstrated that FIB4 index > 3.25, an index of liver fibrosis, is significantly associated with development of CKD in T2DM patients with concomitant NAFLD.

INTRODUCTION

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the Philippines. Most Filipino CKD patients prefer hemodialysis due to barriers such as cost and availability of Kidney Transplant. End-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients face high symptom burden and unmet palliative care needs. Even with advancement in dialysis technology, the annual mortality rate of dialysis patients remains between 20% and 25%. While Advance Care Planning (ACP) can help align care with patient preferences by facilitating discussions about values and future decisions, its utilization in dialysis population remains low due to barriers in implementation. There is limited research specifically addressing the preferences and influencing factors of Advance Care Planning among CKD patients on hemodialysis in the Philippines.

This study aimed to determine the ACP preferences of CKD patients undergoing hemodialysis and to identify the clinicodemographic factors associated with these preferences.

An analytic cross-sectional study was conducted involving 96 chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients undergoing hemodialysis at Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) from October to November 2024. Data were collected using validated questionnaires administered either through face-to-face interviews or self-administration, depending on patients’ preferences and capabilities. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were employed for data analysis.

The study revealed limited awareness of ACP among participants (86.5%), underscoring the need for education. Family-centered decision-making was prominent, with most participants preferring family members as surrogate decision-makers and confidants. Quality of life was prioritized over life extension, and preferences for “Do Not Resuscitate” (DNR) orders were notable. Educational attainment and ethnicity significantly influenced preferences, with higher education linked to greater awareness; and Ethnicity shaping preferences for decision-makers, confidants, timing of discussions, and resuscitation choices. Additionally, duration of dialysis was linked to care setting preferences, while social support systems influenced the preferred place for discussions.

The findings highlight critical associations between clinicodemographic factors and ACP preferences among hemodialysis patients. Addressing these associations through targeted education and culturally sensitive approach can promote high-quality end-of-life care, aligned with diverse patient needs, values, and preferences.

BACKGROUND

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patients often face critical treatment decisions that significantly affect their quality of life, making Shared Decision-Making (SDM), a collaborative approach between patients and healthcare providers, an essential component of patient-centered care.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of SDM on decisional readiness and patient satisfaction among CKD patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) at Southern Isabela Medical Center (SIMC).

An analytical cross-sectional design was utilized. The Tagalog Version of SDM Q-9 questionnaire, Decision survey and CSAT survey tool were given to HD patients of SIMC from September – October 2024. Descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation and chi square test were used to report and analyze data.

One hundred eight (108) CKD patients on HD were included in the study. Shared decision-making score was high and overall satisfaction on health services was outstanding. Higher decisional readiness was associated with greater odds of reporting outstanding satisfaction (OR = 3.47, 95% CI: 2.563–4.688, p = 0.009). There was no significant association between patient satisfaction and SDM (r= 0.111, p =0.253.). Shared decision-making had a significant but weak positive correlation with decisional readiness (r =0.2043, p 0.035).

This study showed that fostering SDM positively enhances patients’ preparedness to make healthcare decisions. Decisional readiness is strongly associated with patient satisfaction, as confident patients are more likely to be satisfied with their care. The findings underscore the need for improved patient education to boost decisional readiness and support ongoing SDM practices. Integrating SDM into clinical workflows is essential to advancing patient-centered care and improving health outcomes for CKD patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Peripheral nerve block (PNB) has been successfully used as the sole anesthetic for Peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter insertion, and has been shown to provide satisfactory anesthesia and analgesia perioperatively, especially among critically – ill patients.

This report describes the anesthetic management of an 18 – year old underweight patient with End-stage renal disease (ESRD) and decompensated heart failure who was scheduled for PD catheter insertion. He was given a left lateral Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block and a right Rectus sheath (RS) block as the main anesthetic. Fifteen mL of Isobaric Bupivacaine 0.375% with Epinephrine 1:400,000 dilution was injected for the TAP block, and 10mL for the RS block, for a total volume of 25mL (93.7mg). Sedation was given via a Remifentanil infusion at 0.1mcg/kg/min. Intraoperatively, the patient was awake, conversant, and comfortable, no pressors were used, and no conversion to general anesthesia was done. Post-operatively, he had good pain control, with a pain score of 1/10, and successfully underwent dialysis via the PD catheter on the 2ndhospital day.

This pediatric patient who is critically ill is not a good candidate for general or neuraxial anesthesia due to the risk of hemodynamic instability and perioperative decompensation. PNB was done to provide anesthesia, and ensure good pain control post-operatively, and a right TAP and left RS were done instead of a bilateral TAP to lower the LA volume and decrease the risk of LA toxicity.

Unilateral TAP with contralateral RS is a safe anesthetic technique among critically-ill pediatric patients who will undergo PD catheter insertion without the risk of hemodynamic instability with general or neuraxial anesthesia.

Objectives: In the Philippines, patients on chronic hemodialysis with COVID-19 remain admitted in hospitals despite clinical recovery because most free-standing dialysis units require proof of negative conversion via Reverse Transcriptase – Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). This study aims to determine the time to negative conversion of COVID-19 RT-PCR testing among adult patients on chronic hemodialysis with COVID-19 admitted at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) and bring insight in using the symptom or time-based procedure as recommended by local guideline, and ultimately, to ensure delivery of adequate hemodialysis despite being infected with COVID-19, shorten isolation period, and conserve resources especially in resource-limited settings. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study on all adult patients on chronic hemodialysis who were admitted in PGH after the diagnosis of COVID-19 by RT-PCR between March 2020 and February 2021. Descriptive statistics was used in summarizing the data. Results: A total of 90 patients on chronic hemodialysis who tested positive for COVID-19 via RT-PCR admitted at PGH were included in the study. Most of these patients had moderate COVID-19 at 53.3%. The median number of days from onset of symptoms to clinical recovery was 14.5 days. The median time to first negative conversion was 18 days. Most of these patients had negative conversion at the second week. The correlation coefficient between time to clinical recovery and negative conversion was 0.214. Conclusion Among adult patients on chronic hemodialysis who were admitted in PGH after the diagnosis of COVID-19, the time to negative conversion was longer compared to the time to clinical recovery with a very weak correlation between the two.
COVID-19 ; Renal Dialysis ;

Objective: This study sought to define the profile and outcome of Covid-19 in adult patients with renal insufficiency admitted to the Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH) from March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study and utilized descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 49 patients who tested positive for Covid- 19 also had renal insufficiency. The included patients were aged 51 to 60 (26.5%) and 61 to 70 (26.5%) years old, almost equal in sex distribution. Majority were unemployed (81.6%). On clinical profile most have no history of smoking (85.7%), alcohol intake (81.6%), and drug illicit use (100%). Predominantly the eGFR level was less than 15 mL/min (89.8%), with diabetes mellitus (36.7%) as the leading cause of renal insufficiency, followed by hypertension (61.2%). Majority received hemodialysis (81.6%) and advised for the continuation of hemodialysis (51%) upon discharge. Their length of stay was from 0-5 days (30.6%) with most being admitted to the intensive care unit (55.1%). Most were eventually discharged (63.3%). Conclusion Patients admitted in this hospital who had Covid-19 and renal insufficiency were between 51-70 years old, almost equally divided between males and females, and unemployed. Majority denied smoking, alcohol intake, and drug illicit use. The average eGFR was less than 15 mL/min, had diabetes mellitus and hypertension as a co-morbidity. The treatment received upon admission consisted mostly of hemodialysis only. Their length of hospital stay was 0-5 days with most being admitted to the ICU. Majority of the patients were eventually discharged.
COVID-19 ; Renal Insufficiency

Introduction: Since the breakout of COVID-19 in December 2019, the virus has already affected and taken millions of lives over the past year. There is still much to learn about this disease. It has been postulated that the human kidney is a potential pathway for COVID-19 due to the presence of the ACE2 receptors found in the surfaces of kidney cells. Some studies that demonstrated acute tubular necrosis and lymphocyte infiltration among post mortem COVID-19 patients, concluding that the virus could directly damage the kidney, increasing the risk of the development of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) among patients with COVID-19. This study investigated the incidence and severity of AKI among hospitalized COVID-19 patients and the association of the degree of AKI with regards to the severity and outcomes of COVID-19 patients. Methods: This was a single-center cross-sectional study retrospective chart review of COVID-19 patients who developed AKI. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the general and clinical characteristics of the patients. Frequency and proportion were used for categorical variables. Shapiro-Wilk test was used to determine the normality distribution of continuous variables. Continuous quantitative data that met the normality assumption was described using mean and standard deviation, while those that did not were described using median and range. Continuous variables which are normally distributed were compared using the One-way ANOVA, while those variables that are not normally distributed were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis H test. For categorical variables, the Chi-square test was used to compare the outcomes. If the expected percentages in the cells are less than 5%, Fisher's Exact Test was used instead. Results: A total of 1441 COVID-19 in-patients from March 1, 2020 to March 1, 2021 were reviewed, 59 of whom were excluded. Among the adults with COVID-19 who developed AKI, 60% were in stage I, 10% in stage II, and 30% in stage III. The incidence of AKI among COVID-19 in-patients at Makati Medical Center was 13.10% (95% CI 11.36% - 14.99%). Among the 181 patients, 79 (43.65%, 95% CI 36.30 - 51.20) had died. The mortality rate is 22.02% for Stage I, 50% for Stage II, and 85.19% for Stage III. The median length of hospital stay was 12 days, ranging from 1 day up to 181 days. Full renal recovery on discharge was observed only in one-third of the patients. It was observed in 44.95% of those in Stage I, 27.78% of those in Stage II, and 5.56% of those in Stage III. Conclusion The study demonstrated that the incidence of AKI in hospitalized COVID-19 patients was 13.1% (95% CI 11.36% - 14.99%), which was lower than previously reported. This could be attributed to the longer study period wherein, to date, we have a better understanding of the disease and had already established a standard of care for treatment for the disease attributing to the decreased incidence of AKI among COVID-19 patients than what was initially reported. The development of AKI has a direct correlation with the degree of infection. Among patients who developed AKI, 20% required renal replacement therapy. Overall development of AKI increases the risk of mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The stage of AKI has a direct correlation with regards to mortality and has an indirect relationship with regards to renal recovery.
Acute Kidney Injury ; COVID-19 ; Renal Replacement Therapy ; Mortality

Introduction: Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma, a renal cortical tumor characterized by malignant epithelial cells with clear cytoplasm and compact alveolar or acinar growth pattern interspersed with intricate arborizing vasculature.1 This is rare in people less than 45 years old. Though it has varied clinical manifestations, its classical triad: abdominal mass, hematuria, and groin pain only present in four to 17% of cases.2 We therefore present a case of renal cell carcinoma occurring in an unusual age group who presented with vague gastrointestinal symptoms and polycythemia which accounts only less than 5% of cases.3 Case Presentation: This is a case of a 28-year-old Filipino male who presented with epigastric pain with abdominal fullness and anorexia who later complained of frequent vomiting after solid and liquid intake. CBC revealed polycythemia. Gastroscopy with biopsy showed esophagitis Los Angeles classification Grade A and duodenal mass obstructing 95% of the lumen. Computed tomographic scan of whole abdomen revealed large renal mass, right of 15.9x9.35x11.34cm extending superiorly at the antropyloric region causing gastric luminal narrowing down to first and second segments of duodenum with a 4.2cm enlarged lymph node in aortocaval area. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a huge complex right renal mass of 12x12x10cm in size extending beyond Gerota’s fascia with 8x5.2x6.2cm lymph node compressing the vena cava. Right radical nephrectomy was done for both supportive management to relieve the obstruction and for histologic diagnosis which revealed clear cell renal cell carcinoma. JAK2 gene mutation test was done to determine the cause of polycythemia and phlebotomy was performed to address the problem. Conclusion This case presents with vague gastrointestinal symptoms which is atypical of renal cell carcinoma, hence highlights the importance of properly investigating its cause. Furthermore, a multidisciplinary approach involving different subspecialties plays a significant role in the diagnosis and management in this patient.
Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Polycythemia

Objective: To determine the effect of pre-operative isometric exercise (PIE) on vascular caliber of pediatric chronic kidney disease (CKD) Stage 2-5D patients. Materials and Methods: This is a single-blind, randomized, single-center trial of 28 CKD patients. Fourteen participants allocated in the intervention group (PIE) were provided with a handgrip device and performed handgrip exercise consisting of two sets of 30 contractions daily while another 14 participants did not perform the exercise and were considered as controls (NE). For both groups, Duplex Ultrasonography was performed at baseline, four and eight weeks post-intervention. Results: Twenty-four CKD patients were included and analyzed. The mean age was 15.8 (+/- 1.9) years. There were 16 (66.7%) females and eight (33%) Males, 10 (41.7%) underweight (<18 kg/m2 ), 23 (95.8%) right-handed, 12 (50%) with Chronic Glomerulonephritis, and 10 (41.7%) with stage 2 CKD. Both the intervention and control group revealed a statistically significant increase in the caliber of the non-dominant cephalic (ante-cubital) vein at four- and eight-weeks post-intervention. Conclusion PIE might not significantly impact vessel diameter in pediatric CKD population as compared to adult CKD patients. Further studies on reliability of ultrasonography of blood vessels utilizing a larger sample size and more controlled milieu are recommended.
Renal Insufficiency, Chronic