Research Updates in Kidney and Urologic Health

New in CHID

Each quarter, the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse adds about 150 items to the kidney and urologic diseases subfile of the Combined Health Information Database (CHID). This database contains abstracts and ordering information for professional resources and patient education materials—such as books, pamphlets, videos, journal articles, and manuals—dealing with a variety of kidney and urologic topics. CHID Online can be accessed at http://chid.nih.gov on the Internet. Among recent additions to the subfile are materials on vascular access for hemodialysis, kidney transplantation, and chronic renal failure.

Understanding Your Hemodialysis Access Options

The vascular access for hemodialysis is often called the patient's "lifeline" because it allows efficient blood flow from the patient to the dialyzer and back. This 16-page booklet explains the importance of the hemodialysis access, the different types of accesses, and how to care for them. It also includes charts that list the pros and cons of each type and detailed illustrations to help the reader understand how each type of access works.

Understanding Your Hemodialysis Access Options is available free of charge from the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP), 3505 East Frontage Road, Suite 315, Tampa, FL 33607. Phone: 1–800–749–2257. Website: www.aakp.org.

Getting the Most From Your Treatment: What You Need to Know When You Have Chronic Kidney Disease

The latest addition to the National Kidney Foundation's Getting the Most From Your Treatment series focuses on chronic kidney disease and what patients can do to slow its progress. The booklet deals with nutrition, anemia, bone disease, heart disease, and other health problems that often accompany declining kidney function. It concludes with a discussion of treatment options for kidney failure and medical tests that measure kidney function.

Getting the Most From Your Treatment: What You Need to Know When You Have Chronic Kidney Disease is available free of charge from the National Kidney Foundation, 30 East 33rd Street, New York, NY 10016. Phone: 1–800–622–9010. Website: www.kidney.org.

Getting a New Kidney: Facts About Kidney Transplants and Keeping Your New Kidney Healthy: Facts About Transplant Medications

The American Society of Transplantation has developed a series of fact sheets on transplantation, including two on kidney transplantation—Getting a New Kidney: Facts About Kidney Transplants and Keeping Your New Kidney Healthy: Facts About Transplant Medications. The first fact sheet discusses kidney failure, its causes, and its treatments. It details the steps a patient must take to be evaluated at a transplant center and placed on a national waiting list for a cadaver donor kidney. Living donor transplants are also discussed. The second fact sheet focuses on immunosuppressants, medications to fight infections, and other medications to control side effects.

Getting a New Kidney: Facts About Kidney Transplants and Keeping Your New Kidney Healthy: Facts About Transplant Medications are available free of charge from the American Society of Transplantation, 17000 Commerce Parkway, Suite C, Mount Laurel, NJ 08054. Phone: 856–439–9986. Website: www.a-s-t.org.

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