Infections in patients with chronic kidney disease.
There has been a notable lack of research activity regarding major infections in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease. To an outsider, this might seem unexpected, because uremia has long been considered a state of immune hyporesponsiveness and rates of major bacterial infection, like septicemia and pneumonia, are known to be orders of magnitude more likely in dialysis populations than in the general population. This article reviews recent literature on the topic, focusing predominantly on the clinical epidemiology of major bacterial infections in dialysis patients, the links between bacterial infections and cardiovascular disease, and randomized trials of interventions designed to prevent these infections.
Foley
Robert N
RN
Chronic Disease Research Group, Department of Nephrology, University of Minnesota, 914 South 8th Street, Suite D-206, Minneapolis, MN 55404, USA. rfoley@cdrg.org
D003956:Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000821:virology