A Clinical Prediction Score to Guide Referral of Elderly Dialysis Patients for Kidney Transplant Evaluation

Abstract Background: Kidney transplantation remains the optimal therapy for patients with end stage kidney disease (ESKD), though a small fraction of patients on dialysis are on organ waitlists. An important barrier to preemptive kidney transplantation and successful waitlisting is timely referral to a kidney transplant center. We implemented a quality improvement strategy to improve outpatient kidney transplant referrals in a single center academic outpatient nephrology clinic. Methods: Over a 3 month period (July 1 - September 30, 2016), we assessed the baseline kidney transplantation referral rate at our outpatient nephrology clinic for patients 18 - 75 years old with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of less than 20 mL/min/1.73m 2 (2 values over 90 days apart). Charts were manually reviewed by two reviewers to look for kidney transplant referrals and documentation of discussions about kidney transplantation. We then performed a root cause analysis to explore potential barriers to kidney transplantation. Our intervention began on July 1, 2017 and included the implementation of a column in the electronic medical record (EMR) which displayed the patient's last eGFR as part of the clinic schedule. Physicians were given a document listing their patients to be seen that day with an eGFR of < 20 mL/min/1.73m 2 . Results: 54 unique patients with eGFR ≤ 20 ml/min/1.73 m 2 were identified who were seen in the Clinic between July 1, 2016 and September 30, 2016. 29.6% (16) eligible patients were referred for kidney transplantation evaluation. 69.5% (37) of these patients were not referred for kidney transplant evaluation. 46.3% (25) did not have documentation regarding kidney transplant in the EMR. Following the intervention, 66 unique patients met criteria for eligibility for kidney transplant evaluation. Kidney transplant referrals increased to 60.6% (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our pilot implementation study of a strategy to improve outpatient kidney transplant referrals showed that a free, simple, scalable intervention can significantly improve kidney transplant referrals in the outpatient setting Next steps include further study of the impact of early referral to kidney transplant centers on preemptive and living donor kidney transplantation as well as successful waitlisting.

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Employment of Patients With Kidney Failure Treated With Dialysis or Kidney Transplantation - A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

10.21203/rs.3.rs-147522/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lilli Kirkeskov ◽

Rasmus Carlsen ◽

Thomas Lund ◽

Niels-Henrik Buus

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Kidney Transplantation ◽

Kidney Transplant ◽

Kidney Failure ◽

Educational Level ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Employment Rate ◽

Dialysis Patients ◽

Post Transplant

Abstract Background: Patients with kidney failure treated with dialysis or kidney transplantation experience difficulties maintaining employment due to the condition itself as well as the treatment. We aimed to establish the rate of employment before and after initiation of dialysis and after kidney transplantation and to identify predictors of employment during dialysis and post-transplant.Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis, PRISMA, for studies that included employment rate in adults receiving dialysis or a kidney transplant. The literature search included cross sectional or cohort studies published in English in the period from January 1966 to August 2020 in the databases PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library. Data of employment rate, study population, age, gender, educational level, dialysis duration, kidney donor, ethnicity, dialysis modality, waiting time for transplantation, diabetes, and depression were extracted. Quality assessment was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Meta-analysis for predictors for employment and odds ratio; confidence intervals; and test for heterogeneity were calculated using Chi-squared statistics and I2. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020188853.Results. 33 studies with 162,059 participants during dialysis and 31 studies with 137,742 participants receiving kidney transplantation. Dialysis patients were on average 52.6 years old (range 16-79), 60.3% males and kidney transplant patients 46.7 years old (range 18-78), 59.8% males. The employment rate (weighted mean) for dialysis patients was 26.3% (range 10.5-59.7%); pre-transplant 36.9% (range 25-86%), and post-transplant 38.2% (range 14.2-85%). Predictors for employment during dialysis and post-transplant were male, non-diabetic, peritoneal dialysis, and higher educational level, and post-transplant: pre-transplant employment, younger age, transplantation with a living donor kidney, and without depression.Conclusions: Patients with kidney failure had a low employment rate during dialysis, pre- and post-transplant. Kidney failure patients should be supported through a combination of clinical and social measures to ensure they remain in work.

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