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About Hannah Bracamonte

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So far Hannah Bracamonte has created 564 blog entries.

Join Us for a Webinar on Slowing the Progression of Kidney Disease!

2024-03-28T21:04:53-04:00March 17th, 2016|Categories: Early Intervention, eNews, Webinar, What Is Kidney Disease|

March is National Kidney Month, and March 12th is World Kidney Day. With 26 million American adults suffering from kidney disease, it is critical to spread awareness about the disease. Join us Monday, March 9th to hear from a nephrology nurse on how to slow the progression of kidney disease. Our webinar and conference call will take place at 3pm ET and is open to everyone. Please share this information with your facilities, friends and family that may be at risk for kidney disease. To join the call, dial (877) 399-5186 and enter code 433-459-5474. To watch the webinar and follow [...]

Kidney Disease Patients Face Unique Challenges in Health Care Communities

2024-03-28T21:04:54-04:00March 17th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Nutrition|

Chronic kidney disease patients living in health care communities, such as nursing facilities and assisted living facilities, face unique challenges related to maintaining a renal-specific diet. A recent article in the Journal of Renal Nutrition, suggests the controlled meal environment may have a more negative effect on residents nutritional status than a positive one. “When initially considered, the average person may be quick to conclude that diets are better managed in health care communities than at home,” writes Julie Hulsebus-Colvin, MBA, RD,CDN. However, this control and inflexibility regarding meal times and portion sizes can have a negative effect on a patient’s [...]

Generic Version of Transplant Drug Found to Perform as well as Brand

2024-03-28T21:04:55-04:00March 17th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Kidney Transplant, Medication|

A recent study conducted by the University of Cincinnati found that patient outcomes were almost identical for generic and brand-name versions of tacrolimus, a drug used post-transplant to reduce the risk of organ rejection. With more affordable generics now on the market, the study took a closer look at the outcomes of what have often been referred to as narrow therapeutic index medications. The study’s lead investigator Rita Alloway, PharmD (a research professor of medicine and director of transplant clinical research at University of Cincinnati’s Department of Internal Medicine) presented the study findings at the 2015 American Transplant Congress. The Food [...]

Kidneys That Suffered Acute Injuries May Be Good Candidates for Transplantation

2024-03-28T21:04:55-04:00March 17th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Kidney Transplant, What Causes Kidney Disease|Tags: , |

Studies show that kidneys from deceased donors who had acute injuries (defined as injuries with blood loss that affect the kidney, often sustained in car accidents) are frequently discarded, but could be transplanted with better results than transplants with delayed graft function. (Delayed graft function occurs when a transplanted kidney does not immediately start to function properly and may require some dialysis for a period of time.) Yale Director of Applied Translational Research Dr. Chirag Parikh and colleagues tracked kidneys from 1,632 deceased donors and, as expected, found that kidneys from patients with acute kidney injury were discarded more often. The [...]

Diabetes Awareness Month

2024-03-28T21:04:56-04:00March 17th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Physical Health, Webinar, What Causes Kidney Disease|Tags: |

Diabetes is the most common cause of kidney disease, accounting for nearly 44% of new cases each year. Coinciding with Diabetes Awareness Month, we were pleased to host an education call on November 3 to discuss the physiology of diabetes in Chronic Kidney Disease patients as well as beneficial lifestyle interventions. Danielle Kirkman, PhD was our guest speaker. She is currently a University of Delaware research fellow, focusing on the benefits of physical activity on vascular health.  Dr. Kirkman discussed the importance of monitoring your blood glucose levels early on to avoid kidney failure. The extreme fluctuations in blood glucose levels [...]

Challenges Appear on Horizon for Dialysis Workforce

2024-03-28T21:04:57-04:00March 17th, 2016|Categories: Employment, eNews, Lifestyle|

The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) recently conducted a survey which found that 51% of nephrology residency programs go unfilled. The American Nephrology Nurses Association (ANNA) also recently surveyed its membership, and 39% of respondents said their unit has insufficient staff, creating a rushed environment that contributes to incomplete work! Many ANNA survey respondents saw overlap between their working conditions and patients’ treatment conditions. Another area of concern for respondents was long hours, which contribute to various errors. While most nephrology nurses rated patient safety favorably, there is always room for improvement. There has also been a recent trend of declining [...]

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Draws Attention to Need for Hygienic Practices

2024-03-28T21:04:58-04:00March 17th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Staying Healthy|Tags: , |

It is hard to remember a time when there were so many news stories about infectious disease.  First, the public was told to worry about a really bad flu this winter.  Then an outbreak of the measles, which many thought to have disappeared decades ago due to immunization.  And now the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is warning of a new superbug: CRE (the scientific name for which is carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae).  This should not be a cause for alarm, but rather a call for vigilance by every patient to take charge of their own health. CRE is a family of bacteria [...]

ESRD Patients Living Longer Despite Growth of CKD

2024-03-28T21:04:59-04:00March 17th, 2016|Categories: Diagnosis of Kidney Disease, eNews|Tags: |

According to a study by the US Renal Data System (USRDS), the University of Michigan, and the Arbor Research Collective for Health, the number of people newly diagnosed with end stage renal disease (ESRD) has been steadily declining since 2010. In 2012, only 114,813 people were newly diagnosed with ESRD, bringing the total number of ESRD patients in the US to 636,905. Mortality rates for ESRD patients have also been declining, indicating that patients on dialysis or with kidney transplants are living longer. This means dialysis patients are receiving higher quality care on the whole. While 14% of US adults have [...]

Confronting Kidney Health Disparities during Black History Month

2024-03-28T21:04:59-04:00March 17th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Kidney Transplant, What Causes Kidney Disease|Tags: , , |

While black history is American history and cannot be adequately covered in a single month, we take Black History Month as an opportunity to confront kidney health disparities. Unfortunately, African American adults are 3.5 times more likely to have kidney failure. The major risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD) include high blood pressure, obesity, family history and diabetes. These risk factors also disproportionately affect African American communities. The relative socioeconomic status of these communities, in addition to their relative lack of access to medical care and a genetic predisposition toward kidney disease, makes the risk for kidney disease higher.  Compared to [...]

A Brief History of Dialysis

2024-03-28T21:05:03-04:00March 10th, 2016|Categories: Dialysis, eNews, News & Events, Treatment, What Is Kidney Disease|

The history of dialysis dates back to the 1940s. The first type of dialyzer, then called the artificial kidney, was built in 1943 by Dutch physician Willem Kolff. Kolff had first gotten the idea of developing a machine to clean the blood after watching a patient suffer from kidney failure. When his invention was completed, he attempted to treat over a dozen patients with acute kidney failure over the next two years. Although only one treatment turned out successful, he continued to experiment in improving his design. Kolff came to the United States in the late 1940s and went to work [...]

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