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Brian Rifkin
Why Can’t I Quit You: Steroid Tapering in ...

This week, we will discuss the best schedule for tapering steroids in adult patients with podocytopathies (MCD/FSGS).

Why Can’t I Quit You: Steroid Tapering in Adults with Podocytopathies (START)
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joel topf
NephJC 2026 Fall Pledge Drive

Help keep NephJC a vital, original, and unbiased source of medical education.

NephJC 2026 Fall Pledge Drive
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Brian Rifkin
REFINe-ing AI’s Role in Nephrology Diagnosis

This week, we will discuss the use of LLMs for the diagnosis of complex nephrology cases. Can AI help nephrologists nail the correct diagnosis?

REFINe-ing AI’s Role in Nephrology Diagnosis
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Akshaya J
Too sweet to be true? Prophylactic SGLT2 ...

MERCURI-2 reports that dapagliflozin cuts postoperative AKI after cardiac surgery, but the headline result is mostly a urine-output story, not a creatinine one. That matters: urine output after surgery is easily swayed by anesthesia, fluid shifts, vasopressors, and a diuretic drug in the mix. Until dapagliflozin shows it protects kidney function, not just urine output.

Too sweet to be true? Prophylactic SGLT2 inhibitors before cardiac surgery
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Cristina Adriana Popa
Buffering without benefit? The SODa-BIC study

This week, we will discuss SODaBIC trial: with ICU acidosis driven by multiple overlapping mechanisms, is bicarbonate infusion supported by robust evidence, or does it persist mainly out of habit rather than physiology?

Buffering without benefit? The SODa-BIC study

Background

Too sweet to be true? Prophylactic SGLT2 inhibitors before cardiac surgery

Too sweet to be true? Prophylactic SGLT2 inhibitors before cardiac surgery

MERCURI-2 reports that dapagliflozin cuts postoperative AKI after cardiac surgery, but the headline result is mostly a urine-output story, not a creatinine one. That matters: urine output after surgery is easily swayed by anesthesia, fluid shifts, vasopressors, and a diuretic drug in the mix. Until dapagliflozin shows it protects kidney function, not just urine output.

Beyond Diabetic Kidney Disease: FIND-ing Finerenone's Next Role

Beyond Diabetic Kidney Disease: FIND-ing Finerenone's Next Role

FIND-CKD extends finerenone beyond diabetic kidney disease, showing slower eGFR decline and sustained albuminuria reduction in non-diabetic CKD. While the benefits are modest and cardiovascular effects remain uncertain, the trial opens the door to broader use of nsMRAs and raises important questions about combination therapy with SGLT2 inhibitors.

On the right TRACK? Rivaroxaban to prevent cardiovascular events in advanced CKD.

On the right TRACK? Rivaroxaban to prevent cardiovascular events in advanced CKD.

Can rivaroxaban improve cardiovascular outcomes in patients with advanced CKD.? Although vascular inflammation and thrombosis are at the heart of CV damage, anticoagulants have not previously shown benefits in CVD patients.

Making an IMPACT on BP: Why pills alone won't win the war

Making an IMPACT on BP: Why pills alone won't win the war

This week we will discuss whether a bundled, team-based hypertension intervention- featuring intensive BP targets, home monitoring, health coaching, and audit feedback- can overcome poverty, clinical inertia, and fragmented care to improve blood pressure control in low-income patients receiving care at federally qualified health centers.

Is TRPC6 inhibition for FSGS a trick or a treat?

Is TRPC6 inhibition for FSGS a trick or a treat?

This week, we will discuss a phase 2 trial of the TRPC6 inhibitor BI 764198 in FSGS—an early signal for a podocyte-targeted therapy showing proteinuria reduction but set against small numbers, heterogeneity, and methodological trade-offs that frame this as direction-finding rather than definitive evidence.

Why-dralazine?! Population risk of drug induced vasculitis

Why-dralazine?! Population risk of drug induced vasculitis

This week, we will discuss why a large registry cohort was needed to move past decades of scattered case reports and clarify the true risk of hydralazine‑associated vasculitis. When rare events hide in noise, only scale can reveal the signal. Can population‑level data finally bring this paradox into focus?

Searchin’ For My Lost Shaker of Salt- Targeted Treatment of Hyponatremia

Searchin’ For My Lost Shaker of Salt- Targeted Treatment of Hyponatremia

This week, we will discuss the HIT trial- a large randomized study challenging one of the most reflexive responses in hospital medicine: see hyponatremia, fix the sodium. But what if correcting the number doesn’t change what actually matters?