Before starting dialysis, patients need nephrologist care
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 16:57
in Health & Medicine
For patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), receiving care from a nephrologist in the months before starting dialysis reduces the risk of death during the first year on dialysis, reports a study in the May 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The study also shows geographic "clusters" where pre-dialysis care for patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) is not optimal. "Assistance to improve pre-dialysis care might be profitably targeted to specific treatment centers and the health care systems they serve," comments William McClellan, MD (Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA).