First, it's important to recognize how crucial adequate decongestion is.
👇study: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29544928/ which assessed pts in the PROTECT trial showed lack of decongestion was a predictor of mortality and HF re-hospitalization
What has been shown is that net negative sodium balance matters, A LOT. An assessment of participants in ROSE with 24h urine collections, net negative Na balance was associated with improved 6 mo survival. Net fluid balance and weight loss were not.
This prospective study of 110 pts showed if spot UNa didn't ⬆️ post furosemide = sig higher mortality as well as higher NGAL and KIM-1. Shows the importance of following spot UNa levels in response to diuretics - as well as "door to decongestion time"
A number of studies have now looked at spot UNa values to assess natriuresis and this has been part of our practice @UWNephrology for the past 2 years.
A clinical trial looking at the utility of UNa to guide decongestion is currently recruiting.
Ok on to proximal tubule inhibitors. We know that diuretic resistance is common and a major proposed mech is distal nephron hypertrophy with ⬆️ NCC channels. Adding thiazide diuretics is common and makes physiologic sense but data is lacking outside of CARRESS.
💡majority of Na reab. in the prox tubule (up to 85%). Makes sense to🛑this, but efficacy limited by distal sites of reab.
Diamox = 1st non-mercurial diuretic but quickly forgotten after losing the war to loops (expected)
Enter ADVOR, which is the largest diuretic RCT to date
🎆n=519 pts with ADHF + volume overload
🎆500mg IV diamox daily v placebo
🎆All pts received loop diuretics
🎆primary endpoint: successful decongestion @72 hours
Diamox=more natriuresis and 12% more pts dry after 72 hours
@ChristosArgyrop suggests some of the success may be due to diamox inhibiting pendrin (intercalated cells upregulated in HF)
Earlier this year EMPAG-HF was published
🎆single center placebo controlled trial
🎆randomized pts with ADHF to empa 25 or placebo w/in 12 hours
🎆All pts got loops
🎆Endpoint: UOP over 5d
Result: 25% ⬆️UOP and ⬆️diuretic efficiency
Problem: Unclear if ⬆️UOP from natriuresis or osmotic diuresis. As opposed to the☝️ 2019 study, this showed empa = glycosuria w/out natriuresis pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33251643/
Likely d/t distal Na reabsorption, whereas not poss. w/ glu. I wonder if this would be better with loops+thiaz
Conclusions:
🔥We are in the era of proximal tubule inhibitors
🔥I want to see diamox and flozins tested in diuretic resistance
🔥Would be nice to compare diamox v flozins
🔥I'm also interested in diamox + flozins given distinct mech
Great case of hypokalemia presented by chief fellow @Laurenaring yesterday.
60 y/o woman with a h/o nasopharyngeal cancer, nephrology consulted for hypokalemia.
Sk 2.5, bicarb 30, normal kidney function. No diuretic use, denies vomiting or diarrhea. #nephtwitter#medtwitter
She was on pembrolizumab, which is a/w tubulointerstitial disease and subsequent hypokalemia d/t an RTA, however this was just started 5 days ago and her urine was bland.
Next step? As Nephrologists we want to know urine composition. In this case I would want a Uk, UCr and UCl
Spot values are sufficient and hers were Uk 43, UCr 18 and UCl 50
If you live in the US then you have to deal with unit conversions: discussed here pbfluids.com/tag/potassium/
Her Uk/Ucr ratio was 27 (>2.5 is c/w renal K wasting)
Why are thiazides effective in augmenting natriuresis when added to loops?
We all know that exposure to loops➡️increase in NCC channels in the distal tubule
BUT there's more
Did you know that there's a mechanism for thiazide sensitive NaCl reabsorption in the collecting duct?
Electroneutral NaCl absorption can also occur in the collecting duct through the parallel action of pendrin and NDCBE (Na-dependent Cl/HCO3 exchanger) which is upregulated by Ang II and mineralocorticoids (when Ang II present)
2 cycles of pendrin = 2HCO3- to the lumen for 2Cl-. 1 Cl- is recycled to NDCBE resulting in net reabsorption of 1 NaCl and 2 HCO3- (Cl- through CLCK2 and Na and HCO3- through AE4 in the basolateral membrane)
The whole mechanism appears to be thiazide sensitive
This study showed a ⬇️need for antihypertensives if dietary K+ was ⬆️
💥RCT 47 pts w/ htn
💥⬆️ K+ vs usual K+ diet
💥45% ⬆️ in dietary K+ in ⬆️ K+ group
🔥Hypertensive therapy ⬇️by at least 50% in 81% of intervention group v 29% in control group at 1 yr
What degree of sodium restriction to you recommend to your heart failure patients?
🔥🧂 is important
💥🧂 conservation during human evolution from sea to land was vital
In the book From Fish to Philosopher, Homer Smith wrote “The tenacious conservation of salt is one of the most primitive - if not the most primitive - of functions in the vertebrate kidney"