A National Survey of Conservative Kidney Management Practices for Patients Who Forgo RRT

Abstract

Key Points In the largest survey of US nephrology providers on conservative kidney management (CKM), most reported limited experience with CKM and varied approaches and local resources to provide CKM.There is need to enhance provider training and surveillance of CKM practices and to develop models of CKM that optimize care delivery and outcomes for these patients. Background Clinical practice guidelines advocate for conservative kidney management (CKM), a planned, holistic, patient-centered approach to caring for patients who forgo initiation of RRT. Little is known about the extent to which current care practices meet these expectations. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey of a national sample of nephrology providers recruited through US professional societies between March and July 2022 and inquired about their experiences with caring for patients who forgo RRT and their capacity to provide CKM. Results Overall, 203 nephrology providers (age 47±12 years, 53.2% White, 66.0% female), of which 49.8% were nephrologists and 50.2% advanced practice providers, completed the survey. Most (70.3%) reported that <10% of their practice comprised patients who had forgone RRT. Most indicated that they always or often provided symptom management (81.8%), multidisciplinary care (68.0%), tools to support shared decision making about treatment of advanced kidney disease (66.3%), and psychological support (52.2%) to patients who forgo RRT, while less than half reported that they always or often provided staff training on the care of these patients (47.8%) and spiritual support (41.4%). Most providers reported always or often working with primary care (72.9%), palliative medicine (68.8%), hospice (62.6%), social work (58.1%), and dietitian (50.7%) services to support these patients, while only a minority indicated that they always or often offered chaplaincy (23.2%), physical and/or occupational therapy (22.8%), psychology or psychiatry (31.5%), and geriatric medicine (28.1%). Conclusions Many nephrology providers have limited experience with caring for patients who forgo RRT. Our findings highlight opportunities to optimize comprehensive CKM care for these patients.