National awards to a Servet Hemodialysis Nursing team

Un Hemodialysis Nursing team at the Miguel Servet University Hospital has received two national awards from the Spanish Society of Nephrological Nursing. The awards distinguish work on weight gain after kidney transplant, on the one hand, and research to early detect stenosis in native fistulas.

The SEDEN Donation and Transplant Award went to the work “Weight gain and modification of body composition after a kidney transplant”, led by Emilia Ferrer López, researcher at IIS Aragón, which included in the study 112 patients between 18 and 80 years of age who received kidney grafts performed between September 1, 2020 and June 27, 2022 at HUMS, a reference hospital in Aragon for kidney transplantation.

Ferrer inquired about the weight evolution of these patients after receiving a new kidney. The research team performed four measurements of body composition at 0, 3, 6, 12 months after transplant.

Kidney transplant recipients have low levels of aerobic capacity, decreased muscle mass and a sedentary lifestyle due, among other factors, to lack of exercise and the deterioration caused by chronic kidney disease itself. Their research confirmed moderate weight gain, this gain being greater in muscle than fat, despite taking immunosuppressants and corticosteroids, which is positive for your health. Visceral fat being the most harmful to kidney graft survival.

Gaining muscle means an improvement in the quality of life. “Health care focused on reinforcing healthy lifestyle habits in the post-transplant period is very important,” highlights the nurse who highlights the precise combination of healthy eating and physical exercise performed regularly within the possibilities of each person. .

The nursing team led by Emilia Ferrer is made up of Francisco Javier Rubio, Mª Amaya Mateo, Manuel Fernández, Ana Isabel Sierra and Víctor Cantín.

Care of native fistulas

This same team has been awarded the “Award for the Best Research Work on Innovation in Dialytic Techniques and Results.” On this occasion, the study was led by the nurse Francisco Javier Rubio Castañeda, who is also part of the IIS Aragón.

La hemodialysis It is a treatment that eliminates uremic toxins and excess water from the blood, as the kidneys did when they were healthy. To perform hemodialysis, vascular access is needed that provides a large flow of blood to the dialyzer. Vascular access is essential for the quality of treatment, with the native arteriovenous fistula being the ideal vascular access. Native arteriovenous fistula is the surgical union of an artery and a vein. The fistula, essential for these patients, can be used for years, but must always be in good condition since it is a vital conduit. But with use, this duct can stenosis (narrow), posing a risk of thrombosis for the fistula. Nursing has a key role in the early detection of stenosis.

The award-winning work,Accuracy of first-generation methods in detecting stenosis in native arteriovenous fistulas”, establishes which first generation methods (physical examination) must be implemented to find the signs of stenosis as soon as possible.

The proposals from the Zaragoza team, already awarded, will be presented at the XLVIII National Congress of SEDEN, which will be held in October in Salamanca. 

Source: Government of Aragon.