Hit the bench, US college basketball! Nephrology has its own March Madness – NephMadness 2017 – courtesy of the crew at AJKD Blog, the official blog of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. Since 2013, this month-long educational tournament plays out across all social media outlets, providing good-natured competition while highlighting the latest advances and breakthroughs in nephrology. For those of you unfamiliar with this concept, a beginner’s guide has been created for you here, or you can watch this video.
In NephMadness 2017, the tournament begins with eight regions, or topics, each of which is divided into four competing concepts. The topics were kept secret until March 7, when brackets listing all 32 topics were released.
Nephrology fellows, residents and students are not the only ones who can play and learn. Friends, family, patients, trainees in other healthcare fields, and co-workers are encouraged to fill out brackets. Detailed, accurate and unbiased information on all topics is provided to help you make your choices. Expert commentary will be added as the event unfolds. The deadline for filling out the brackets is March 24, and a Blue Ribbon Panel will judge the matchups. The panel will finally announce the winner on April 5.
Tim Yau, MD, of the Division of Nephrology is part of the NephMadness Team and wrote the Glomerulonephritis Region for this year. During the upcoming Renal Grand Rounds on March 24, Dr. Yau and Dr. Andrew Malone will co-facilitate a group submission by the nephrology fellows, as well as encourage them to create their own brackets.
Experts (selection committee members) on each topic determined the best concepts and vetted the information provided on each concept to make sure it is accurate, unbiased, and interesting. Ben Humphreys, MD, Chief, Division of Nephrology, was the selection committee member for the Biomedical Research Region (see below).
The regions and competing concepts are:
Glomerulonephritis
-Protocol biopsy in Lupus vs Steroids for IgA
-Anti-PLA2e in Membranous vs Rituximab for Minimal Change
History of Nephrology
-History of the Dipstick U/A vs History of the Kidney Biopsy
-History of Hemodialysis vs History of Kidney Transplant
Dialysis
-Kt/V Urea vs Depression in Dialysis
-Neurocognitive Declines in HD vs Patient Reported Outcomes
Biomedical Research Region
-Gene Microarray vs Two Photon Microscopy
-CRISPR-Cas9 vs Single Cell RNA Sequencing
Disparities in Nephrology
-Genes in ESKD Disparity vs Society in ESKD Disparity
-Patient Factors in Transplant Disparity vs System Factors in Transplant Disparity
Genetics
-Podocytopathies vs Ciliopathies
-Drosophila vs Zebrafish
Diabetic Nephropathy
-ACEi and ARB in DN vs Glycemic Control in DN
-SGLT2 Inhibitors in DN vs GLP1 Agonists in DN
Nutrition
-Protein Restriction in CKD vs Feeding During Dialysis
-Microbiome and the Kidney vs Omega 3 Fatty Acids in CKD
Follow Dr. Yau and other members of the NephMadness Team on Twitter:
Joel Topf @kidney_boy
Matt Sparks @Nephro_Sparks
Tim Yau @Maximal_Change
Silvi Shah @silvishah
Anna Burgner @anna_burgner
Edgar Lerma @edgarvlermamd
Paul Phelan @paulphel
Warren Kupin @wkupin
Swapnil Hiremath @hswapnil
Nikhil Shah @dr_nikhilshah
Kenar Jhaveri @kdjhaveri
Brian Stotter @StotterMD
This year, in addition to the Grand Prize/Best Tweeter/Best Blogger categories, a Group Prize will be awarded to the group/institution that has the most individuals affiliated with it.
Head over to the AJKD Blog to read the concepts and submit your entry before the March 24 deadline. Discuss the matchups on social media with the hashtag #NephMadness and engage with other learners!