May 16, 2018, Lakewood, Colorado – A recent study from Taiwan determined that kidney failure patients that begin seeing a nephrologist early on before starting dialysis may help prevent major cardiovascular events. Of more than 60,000 patients reviewed, all of them received pre-dialysis care in some way. Forty percent had early, frequent visits, 21% with early, infrequent visits, and 38% with late visits only. Patients who had the early, frequent visits had an 11% lowered risk for a major CV event.
Early, frequent care was considered when a patient visited a nephrologist every 3 months for 6 or more months. Care was considered late when the first nephrology visit occurred within 6 months of starting dialysis therapy. Patients with a low comorbidity burden appeared to benefit the most from nephrology care.1
Click here to read the full study.2
Sources:
1 https://www.renalandurologynews.com/hemodialysis/predialysis-nephrologist-visits-may-prevent-heart-failure-stroke-scd/article/642928/
2 Yang JY, Huang JW, Chen L, et al. Frequency of Early Predialysis Nephrology Care and Postdialysis Cardiovascular Events. Am J Kidney Dis. 2017. doi: 10.1053/j.ajkd.2016.12.018