Predialysis nephrology care and dialysis-related health outcomes among older adults initiating dialysis

BMC Nephrology

Table 2 Dialysis-related health outcomes by intensity of predialysis nephrology care

Characteristic	No visits	Low intensity^a	Moderate intensity^a	High intensity^a	P-value
Characteristic	N = 26,798	N = 12,566	N = 7,690	N = 10,960	P-value
At Dialysis Initiation, %
Very low eGFR^c	10.1	7.3	6.9	7.0	<0.001
Severe anemia^d	28.5	27.7	24.3	19.4	<0.001
Permanent vascular access^b	13.7	22.6	38.7	54.1	<0.001
Fistula	7.8	13.6	23.0	33.9	<0.001
Graft	3.7	6.5	13.5	17.7	<0.001
Other (graft or fistula)	2.2	2.6	2.6	3.2	<0.001
Peritoneal Dialysis	4.9	7.3	10.3	11.4	<0.001
At Dialysis Follow-up, %
Mortality at 2 years	59.7	55.0	48.0	42.7	<0.001
Kidney transplant at 2 years	0.4	0.6	1.0	1.5	<0.001

^aPatients were categorized by intensity of predialysis nephrology care: low intensity care (1–3 nephrology visits), moderate intensity care (4–6 nephrology visits), and high intensity care (>6 nephrology visits)
^bN = No Visits = 25,490; Low Intensity = 11,649; Moderate Intensity = 6,896; High Intensity = 9,708
^ceGFR ≤5 mL/min/1.73 m²
^dHemoglobin level <9 g/dL

ISSN: 1471-2369