Disaster Preparedness Award: Call for Nominations

The Kidney Community Emergency Response Coalition (KCER) invites you to nominate an individual or organization that has provided outstanding leadership and service to the renal community in disaster preparedness and response. Please download the Disaster Preparedness Award nomination form and submit your entry today!

Drug Safety Communication: Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents (ESAs): Procrit, Epogen and Aranesp:

FDA and Amgen notified healthcare professionals and patients that all ESAs must be used under a REMS risk management program. As part of the risk management program, a Medication Guide explaining the risks and benefits of ESAs must be provided to all patients receiving an ESA. Under the ESA APPRISE Oncology program, Amgen will ensure that only those hospitals and healthcare professionals who have enrolled and completed training in the program will prescribe and dispense ESAs to patients with cancer.

Amgen is also required to oversee and monitor the program to ensure that hospitals and healthcare professionals are fully compliant with all aspects of the program. FDA is requiring a REMS because studies show that ESAs can increase the risk of tumor growth and shorten survival in patients with cancer who use these products. Studies also show that ESAs can increase the risk of heart attack, heart failure, stroke or blood clots in patients who use these drugs for other conditions.

Patients with chronic kidney failure (includes patients on dialysis and those not on dialysis) using ESAs should:

• Know that the use of ESAs can increase the risk for stroke, heart attack, heart failure, blood clots, and death.
• Read the Medication Guide to understand the benefits and risks of using an ESA.
• Get blood tests while using ESAs. The test results may help guide the course of therapy and lower the risks of using these drugs. Patients' healthcare professionals should make them aware of how often to have blood tests.
• Talk with their healthcare professional about any questions they have about the risks and benefits of using ESAs.

Read the complete MedWatch 2010 Safety summary including links to the Drug Safety Communication and current Prescribing Information for these products, at:
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm200391.htm

International Renal Community Coordinates Disaster Response to Earthquake in Haiti

TAMPA – A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck outside Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 12, 2010. Disasters can severely limit the availability of chronic dialysis treatments for individuals living with end stage renal disease (ESRD), or kidney failure. The situation in Haiti was additionally compounded by the scarcity of dialysis before the earthquake. Following the catastrophic damage, healthcare providers were limited in providing lifesaving chronic or acute dialysis treatments.

In response, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) initiated a task force consisting of partners from the ASN Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) and Dialysis Advisory Groups, the International Society of Nephrology, the Kidney Community Emergency Response (KCER) Coalition and the Florida ESRD Network, the National Kidney Foundation, the Sociedad Latino-Americana de Nefrologia e Hipertension, dialysis providers, industry leaders, and the U.S. Departments of State and Health and Human Services.

The KCER Coalition assisted in coordinating daily teleconferences and disseminating critical information to response agencies on the ground in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. This collaboration provided a timely and effective humanitarian response to Haitian earthquake victims. Due to being pinned under collapsed buildings, individuals who survive earthquakes and are pulled from rubble may develop rhabdomyolysis, or crush syndrome. Crush syndrome can lead to acute kidney failure or death if not quickly identified and treated. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), crush syndrome occurs in 2-15% of earthquake victims. Half of the victims of crush syndrome will experience acute renal failure and half of those patients will need dialysis.

KCER will use this experience to develop best practices and outreach efforts to educate the U.S. renal community on how similar disasters could impact the provision of dialysis care. The response to Haiti and the impact of acute kidney injury will be topics of interest at this year’s KCER Summit. Held annually since the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina, the Summit enables the renal community to stay abreast of current issues in disasters and provides a collaborative environment to advance the readiness of the renal community. This meeting is free and open to the public. The 2010 KCER Summit will be held from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13 in Orlando, Florida. This meeting is being held in conjunction with the National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings.

The Florida End Stage Renal Disease Network (Network 7) provides administrative support for the volunteer-driven KCER Coalition.

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This material was prepared by FMQAI, the End Stage Renal Disease Network for Florida (Network 7), under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy.

The Kidney Community Emergency Response (KCER) Coalition provides technical assistance to ESRD Networks, Medicare organizations, and other groups to ensure timely and efficient emergency preparedness, response, and recovery for the kidney community. KCER strives to provide resources to save lives, improve outcomes, empower patients and families, educate healthcare workers, build partnerships with stakeholders, promote awareness in the community, and support the ESRD Network Program.

KCER Response to the Earthquake in Haiti

Since the catastrophic earthquake outside of Port-au-Prince on January 12, KCER has been working with the international renal community to provide coordination and support. This collaboration includes the American Society of Nephrology, the Latin American Society of Nephrology, and the International Society of Nephrology.

KCER volunteers and strategic planners include dozens of kidney-related companies, associations, and organizations who were able to contribute money, supplies, and volunteers to assist in the Haiti relief.

Originally formed in response to the devastating 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, KCER is a volunteer-based coalition of healthcare providers, government representatives, hospitals, patients, patient-centered organizations, and renal professional associations. KCER activities include patient education and staff training on disaster preparedness; promoting awareness to the emergency management community; and supporting the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Network Program.

The KCER Coalition provides technical assistance to facilitate comprehensive, timely, and accurate information dissemination to the renal community and disaster response agencies. KCER provided situation reports, maps, and daily conference call coordination.

Responding to the needs in Haiti strengthens KCER's ability to respond to disasters in the U.S. impacting ESRD providers and patients. This crisis will raise awareness of the critical needs of kidney patients during a disaster. Following the earthquake, dialysis units were destroyed and patients were unable to receive regular dialysis treatments. This situation is compounded by acute kidney injuries from "crush syndrome" which may also require dialysis treatment.

Health professionals wishing to go to Haiti, individuals, organizations, and companies wishing to make monetary contributions, or donate medical supplies or equipment, should register and indicate what resources they have at http://www.cidi.org. President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush have established the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund for donations for the relief and support of Haiti. The American Red Cross http://american.redcross.org is working with its partners to assist those affected by this disaster. To contribute, please visit the Red Cross online. The U.S. Government urges citizens to not self-deploy to the area. KCER encourages healthcare workers to join their local Medical Reserve Corps.