Calcium-containing phosphate binders: should we CARE-2 avoid them?

Venepuncture for calcium assays: should we still avoid the tourniquet?

Blood was collected by venepuncture from nine healthy subjects over a ten minute period before applying a standard tourniquet, and over a ten minute period afterwards. Plasma ionised calcium was unaltered by the tourniquet, whereas total calcium, total protein and albumin in serum increased modestly. However, there was no effect on total calcium adjusted for albumin. Even without albumin adjust...

Non-calcium-containing phosphate binders: comparing efficacy, safety, and other clinical effects.

Phosphate-binder therapy for hyperphosphataemia is key to the treatment of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD)-mineral and bone disorder (MBD). Calcium-free phosphate binders are increasingly favoured since calcium-based agents potentially cause harmful calcium overload and vascular calcification that confound the benefits of reducing serum phosphorus. Several calcium-free phosphate bind...

Fluoride varnishes: should we be using them?

Fluoride varnishes are fast becoming the standard of care as topical fluoride treatments. Fluoride varnishes still await approval from the FDA for use as caries preventive agents. In the meantime, their use for such purposes is considered "off-label." This article highlights the efficacy of fluoride varnishes as caries preventive agents and introduces some of the commercially available fluoride...

Predicted values: how should we use them?

Comparative effectiveness of calcium-containing phosphate binders in incident U.S. dialysis patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Few studies have assessed the association between phosphate binder use and hard outcomes in dialysis patients. Furthermore, the comparative effectiveness of calcium carbonate and acetate is untested. We studied the association between use versus nonuse of calcium-containing phosphate binders (CCPBs) and mortality from any cause. We also tested whether mortality differe...