Research Summary:

Current research project involvement includes co-investigator of multi-center, prospective, cohort study of chronic kidney disease patients funded by Renal Research Institute and Amgen. This study includes collection of clinical and laboratory data on over 600 patients with chronic kidney disease with clinical follow-up. A subgroup of patients is undergoing detailed cardiovascular testing to allow identification of clinical associations with progressive cardiovascular disease. A PhaseI/II trial evaluating effects of the bioartificial kidney (RAD), an emerging technology that includes hemofiltration and metabolically-active cultured human tubule cells, on inflammatory markers in chronically inflamed hemodialysis patients has recently been funded and is actively under development.

Link to PubMed Citations

Selected Publications:

Messana JM, Chuang C, Turenne M, Wheeler J, Turner J, Sleeman K, Tedeschi P, Hirth R. Association of Quarterly Average Achieved Hematocrit with Mortality in Dialysis Patients: A Time-Dependent Comorbidity-Adjusted Model. Am J Kidney Dis. Epub 2008, 53:503-512, 2009.

Hirth R, Messana J. What does a Serum Sodium Cost? J Am Soc Nephrol 19: 654-655, 2008.

Turenne M, Hirth R, Pan Q, Wolfe R, Messana JM, Wheeler J. Using knowledge of multiple levels of variation in care to target performance incentives to providers. Medical Care 46:120-126, 2008.

Patel U, Messana J. Chronic Renal Failure and Dialysis. In: Comprehensive Hospital Medicine. 1st Ed., Mark V. Williams and Robert Hayward (Eds.), Elsevier, Philadelphia, 2007.

Hirth R, Turenne M, Wheeler JRC, Pozniak A, Tedeschi P, Chuang C, Pan Q, Slish K,, Messana JM. Case-mix adjustment for an expanded renal prospective payment system. J Am Soc Nephrol 18:2565-2574, 2007.

Wheeler J, Messana JM, Turenne M, Hirth R, Pozniak A, Pan Q, Chuang C, Slish K, Tedeschi P, Roys E, Wolfe R. Understanding the Basic Case-mix Adjustment for the Composite Rate. Am J Kidney Dis 47(4): 666-671, 2006.

Hirth R, Roys E, Wheeler J, Messana JM, Turenne M, Pozniak A, Saran R, Wolfe R, The Economic Impact of Case-mix Adjusting the Dialysis Composite Rate. J Am Soc Nephrol, J Am Soc Nephrol 16:1172-76, 2005.