The following is a summary “Primary and specialist care interaction and referral patterns for individuals with chronic kidney disease: a narrative review,” published in the April 2024 issue of Nephrology by Mutatiri et al.
Early referral of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) from primary to secondary care improves patient outcomes. However, variable referral criteria and limited nephrology services complicate the management of individuals with CKD.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study examining referral patterns of patients with CKD to nephrology services, emphasizing timing, preparation for kidney replacement therapy, and referral criteria.
They conducted a narrative review to summarize the literature on chronic kidney referral patterns for clinical practice guidance. They included English-language studies, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses from PubMed and Google Scholar inception to March 24, 2023.
The result showed that thirteen papers were thoroughly reviewed, focusing on three themes: Outcomes of timing of nephrology referral, adequacy of preparation for kidney replacement therapy, and clinical vs. risk-based prediction tools. Early referral consistently showed better outcomes regardless of how “early” was defined when starting kidney replacement therapy.
Investigators concluded that improving risk prediction tools can guide primary care inappropriate referrals.
Source: bmcnephrol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12882-024-03585-z
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