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

BMC Nephrology

Table 3 Dialysis-related health outcomes by intensity of predialysis nephrology care among patients with late predialysis nephrology referral

Characteristic	Low intensity^a	Moderate intensity^a	High intensity^a	P-value
Characteristic	N = 6,962	N = 1,093	N = 359	P-value
At Dialysis Initiation, %
Very low eGFR^c	6.6	4.8	7.5	0.04
Severe anemia^d	27.0	23.2	20.1	0.001
Permanent vascular access^b	21.7	39.4	41.3	<0.001
Fistula	12.8	18.8	19.5	<0.001
Graft	6.5	17.7	19.5	<0.001
Other (graft or fistula)	2.4	3.1	2.3	0.46
Peritoneal Dialysis	7.9	11.4	15.6	<0.001
At Dialysis Follow-up, %
Mortality at 2 years	55.1	48.0	45.7	<0.001
Kidney transplant at 2 years	0.6	0.6	0.3	0.72

^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 = Low Intensity = 6,409; Moderate Intensity = 968; High Intensity = 303
^ceGFR ≤5 mL/min/1.73 m²
^dHemoglobin level <9 g/dL

ISSN: 1471-2369