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New data suggest that treatment with patiromer or sodium zirconium cyclosilicate for up to 8 weeks reduces plasma potassium levels in hyperkalaemic patients. If proven safe and effective for long-term use, these therapies might be administered together with intensive renin–angiotensin–aldosterone blockade to reduce adverse effects and renal and cardiovascular risk.
Maintenance therapy for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) should reduce rates of relapse with minimal toxicity. The MAINRITSAN trial—the first randomized controlled trial to compare the efficacies of rituximab and azathioprine in AAV remission maintenance—has demonstrated a superior outcome using rituximab. These data have important implications for the management of AAV.
The authors of a new study report that independent of renal disease, any level of glycaemia is associated with increased mortality risk in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. However, this view may be overly simplistic—a multifactorial approach is required to reduce excess mortality in this population.
Hypotonic fluid administration has been the standard of care for maintenance fluid therapy in acutely ill children, but this approach is associated with hospital-acquired hyponatraemia and hyponatraemic encephalopathy. New findings demonstrate that isotonic maintenance fluids are safe and effective in preventing hospital-acquired hyponatraemia in children, whereas a 0.45% NaCl solution is not.