Publications by authors named "Aleksandra Zurowska"

: Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) is the most common cause of nephrotic syndrome in children. A hallmark of the disease is the rapid remission of proteinuria following a high dose of steroids. Recurrent disease or steroid dependence are common, leading to a high steroid burden and the introduction of steroid sparing therapy.

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Background: Haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a life-threatening disease with a historically poor prognosis in children receiving maintenance kidney replacement therapy (KRT). This study aimed to analyse the incidence and outcome of chronic kidney disease stage 5 (CKD5) due to Escherichia coli-HUS (STEC-HUS) and complement-mediated HUS (CM-HUS) in children, compared with controls with non-HUS CKD5 over the last 24 years.

Methods: The study included 1488 children undergoing KRT in Poland between 2000 and 2023.

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: Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a known cause of acute kidney injury in children, but there are few recent reports on its epidemiology and outcome. We aimed to investigate trends in the incidence and the long-term outcomes of both Shiga toxin-producing -HUS (STEC-HUS) and atypical HUS (aHUS) in Poland over the last 12 years (2012-2023), based on the Polish Pediatric HUS and Pediatric Renal Replacement Therapy (RRT) Registries. : A total of 436 patients (301 with STEC-HUS and 135 with aHUS) were included.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examines how various clinical, laboratory, and personal factors influence the choice and timing of kidney replacement therapy (KRT) among pediatric patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
  • Researchers analyzed a cohort of 695 children aged 6 to 17 to identify what factors lead to either starting dialysis or receiving preemptive transplantation.
  • Key findings show that kidney function decline, disease type, and other health indicators like blood pressure and hemoglobin levels significantly affect KRT decisions, with notable variations between different medical centers.
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Introduction: Among the conditions underlying childhood daytime incontinence the most frequent is overactive bladder (OAB). Parasacral transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (parasacral TENS) is a promising therapy for OAB treatment in children; however, there is no standard treatment protocol.

Objective: To evaluate the immediate and continued effects of parasacral TENS monotherapy in children with OAB.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Involving 324 treatment-naïve children aged 6-14, the research compared outcomes based on individualized treatment choices using voiding diaries versus random treatment allocation.
  • * Results showed a significant improvement in treatment responses when tailored approaches were used, with a notable 46% increase for children with specific bladder conditions, and a prediction model for dDAVP response was developed.
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Background And Hypothesis: Hospital admissions in pediatric dialysis patients need to be better studied, and most existing studies are retrospective and based on registry data. This study aimed to analyse and compare hospital admission rates, causes, length of stay (LOS), and outcomes in children treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD) and hemodialysis (HD).

Methods: Data from 236 maintenance PD and 138 HD patients across 16 European dialysis centers were collected between 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2018.

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Background: The efficacy of continuous antibiotic prophylaxis in preventing urinary tract infection (UTI) in infants with grade III, IV, or V vesicoureteral reflux is controversial.

Methods: In this investigator-initiated, randomized, open-label trial performed in 39 European centers, we randomly assigned infants 1 to 5 months of age with grade III, IV, or V vesicoureteral reflux and no previous UTIs to receive continuous antibiotic prophylaxis (prophylaxis group) or no treatment (untreated group) for 24 months. The primary outcome was the occurrence of the first UTI during the trial period.

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Pediatric steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (pSSNS) is the most common childhood glomerular disease. Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified a risk locus in the HLA Class II region and three additional independent risk loci. But the genetic architecture of pSSNS, and its genetically driven pathobiology, is largely unknown.

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Background: There is paucity of information on rituximab-associated hypogammaglobulinemia (HGG) and its potential infectious consequences in children treated for idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS).

Methods: A survey was distributed by the European Society Pediatric Nephrology to its members. It addressed the screening and management practices of pediatric nephrology units for recognizing and treating RTX-associated HGG and its morbidity and mortality.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined how the characteristics of hospitals and dialysis units affect hospitalizations in pediatric dialysis patients, specifically for access-related complications.
  • It found that children's hospitals (CHs) had more specialized staff and experience, leading to a higher use of automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) and hemodiafiltration (HDF) compared to general hospitals (GHs).
  • CAPD patients faced a higher hospitalization risk due to infections, but centers with more PD experience saw lower hospitalization rates for these patients, while conventional hemodialysis (cHD) increased the risk for non-infectious complications.
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Fetal lower urinary tract obstruction (LUTO) is associated with high mortality and postnatal morbidity caused by lung hypoplasia and impaired kidney function. Specific diagnostic features that can guide clinical approach and decisions are lacking; thus, the European Reference Network for Rare Kidney Diseases established a work group to develop recommendations regarding the clinical definition, diagnosis and management of prenatally detected LUTO. The work group recommends the use of antero-posterior diameter of renal pelvis as the most reliable parameter for suspecting obstructive uropathies and for suspecting prenatal LUTO in the presence of fetal megacystis.

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Aim Of The Study: To evaluate the relationship between serum Gd-IgA1 (sGd-IgA1) and serum and urine TNFR1 (sTNFR1, uTNFR1) levels as possible prognostic factors in IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and IgA vasculitis nephritis (IgAVN).

Material And Methods: From 299 patients from the Polish Registry of Pediatric IgAN and IgAVN, 60 children (24 IgAN and 36 IgAVN) were included in the study. The control group consisted of 20 healthy children.

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The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of the intensity of mesangial C3 deposits in kidney biopsy and the serum C3 level on the clinical course and outcomes of IgAN in children. The study included 148 children from the Polish Pediatric IgAN Registry, diagnosed based on kidney biopsy. Proteinuria, creatinine, IgA, C3 were evaluated twice in the study group, at baseline and the end of follow-up.

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Unlabelled: The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between the severity of typical clinical symptoms, severity of histopathological lesions in kidney biopsies in IgA vasculitis nephritis (IgAVN) and to propose indications for kidney biopsy in children.

Material And Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 106 patients, included in the IgAVN registry of Polish children, diagnosed by kidney biopsy. Renal and extrarenal symptoms at onset of the disease were analyzed.

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Renal dysplasia is a severe congenital abnormality of the kidney parenchyma, which is an important cause of end-stage renal failure in childhood and early adulthood. The diagnosis of renal dysplasia relies on prenatal or postnatal ultrasounds as children show no specific clinical symptoms before chronic kidney disease develops. Prompt diagnosis is important in terms of early introduction of nephroprotection therapy and improved long-term prognosis.

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Maturation of the gut microbiota (GM) in infants is critically affected by environmental factors, with potential long-lasting clinical consequences. Continuous low-dose antibiotic prophylaxis (CAP) is the standard of care for children with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), in order to prevent recurrent urinary tract infections. We aimed to assess short-term GM modifications induced by CAP in infants.

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Background: The European Rare Kidney Disease Reference Network (ERKNet) recently established ERKReg, a Web-based registry for all patients with rare kidney diseases. The main objectives of this core registry are to generate epidemiological information, identify current patient cohort for clinical research, explore diagnostic and therapeutic management practices, and monitor treatment performance and patient's outcomes. The registry has a modular design that allows to integrate comprehensive disease-specific registries as extensions to the core database.

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Objectives: In a previously published Delphi exercise the European Pediatric Dialysis Working Group (EPDWG) reported widely variable counteractive responses to COVID-19 during the first week of statutory public curfews in 12 European countries with case loads of 4-680 infected patients per million. To better understand these wide variations, we assessed different factors affecting countermeasure implementation rates and applied the capability, opportunity, motivation model of behaviour to describe their determinants.

Design: We undertook this international mixed methods study of increased depth and breadth to obtain more complete data and to better understand the resulting complex evidence.

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Background/aim: Children on dialysis are under increased risk of influenza and invasive pneumococcal disease. Although vaccination against these microorganisms are recommended in dialysis patients and despite the fact that these vaccines can reduce disease burden and rates of hospitalization due to infection, vaccination rates are below expected and desired. We aimed to evaluate influenza and pneumococcal vaccination and infection rates in European pediatric dialysis centers.

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A study of 269 children enrolled into a National Registry for children with persistent glomerular hematuria identified 131 individuals with genetically confirmed X-linked Alport Syndrome. A single variant c.1871G>A p.

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Background: COVID-19 was declared a global health emergency. Since children are less than 1% of reported cases, there is limited information to develop evidence-based practice recommendations. The objective of this study was to rapidly gather expert knowledge and experience to guide the care of children with chronic kidney disease during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Article Synopsis
  • Cardiovascular disease is a major health concern for children with chronic kidney disease (CKD), with gut-derived toxins increasing as kidney function worsens, affecting heart health.
  • The study measured levels of indoxyl sulfate (IS) and p-cresyl sulfate (pCS) in children's blood and examined their relationship with vascular health indicators, such as carotid thickness and pulse wave velocity.
  • Results showed that higher serum levels of these toxins were linked to decreased kidney function, and only indoxyl sulfate (IS) was meaningfully associated with cardiovascular disease markers over time in the CKD pediatric population.
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