Impact of Early versus Late Referral to Nephrologists on Outcomes of Chronic Kidney Disease Patients in Northern India

Background. CKD patients are often asymptomatic in the early stages and referred late to nephrologists. Late referred patients carry a poor prognosis. There is a lack of data on outcomes associated with referral patterns in CKD patients from northern India. Methods. In this observational cohort stud...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Manoj Dhanorkar, Narayan Prasad, Ravi Kushwaha, Manas Behera, Dharmendra Bhaduaria, Monika Yaccha, Manas Patel, Anupama Kaul
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022-01-01
Series:International Journal of Nephrology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/4768540
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832553705858138112
author Manoj Dhanorkar
Narayan Prasad
Ravi Kushwaha
Manas Behera
Dharmendra Bhaduaria
Monika Yaccha
Manas Patel
Anupama Kaul
author_facet Manoj Dhanorkar
Narayan Prasad
Ravi Kushwaha
Manas Behera
Dharmendra Bhaduaria
Monika Yaccha
Manas Patel
Anupama Kaul
author_sort Manoj Dhanorkar
collection DOAJ
description Background. CKD patients are often asymptomatic in the early stages and referred late to nephrologists. Late referred patients carry a poor prognosis. There is a lack of data on outcomes associated with referral patterns in CKD patients from northern India. Methods. In this observational cohort study, all CKD patients who visited the nephrology OPD of the institute between Nov 1, 2018, and Dec 31, 2020, were classified as early referral (ER) if their first encounter with a nephrologist occurred more than one year before initiation of dialysis and education about dialysis (from a nurse or nephrologist). The remaining others were considered late referrals (LRs). The outcomes impact of early and late referrals was analyzed. Results. A total of 992 (male 656) CKD patients (ER, n = 475 and LR, n = 517) were enrolled. Patients referred early were older and diabetic and had higher BMI, better education, occupation, and socioeconomic status as compared to those referred late. The mean eGFR at first contact with the nephrologist was (25.4 ± 11.5 ml/min) in ER and 9.6 ± 5.7 ml/min in the LR group and had a higher comorbidity score. The CKD-MBD parameters, hemoglobin, and nutritional parameters were worse in LR. Only a few patients had AVF, and the majority required emergency dialysis in the LR group. A total of 91 (9.2%) patients died, 17 (1.7% ER and 74 (7.5%) patients in the LR group patients. There was significantly lower survival at 6 months (ER 97.1% vs. LR 89.7%), 12 months (ER 96.4% vs. LR 85.7%), 18 months (ER 96.4% vs. LR 85.7%), and 24 months (ER 96.4% vs. LR 85.7%) in late referral group as compared to early referral group P=0.005. Conclusions. LR to nephrologists has the risk of the emergency start of dialysis with temporary vascular access and had a higher risk of mortality. The timely referral to the nephrologist in the predialysis stage is associated with better survival and reduced mortality.
format Article
id doaj-art-bab60e4803d64f28a1d3ca05d3209e5c
institution Kabale University
issn 2090-2158
language English
publishDate 2022-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series International Journal of Nephrology
spelling doaj-art-bab60e4803d64f28a1d3ca05d3209e5c2025-02-03T05:53:28ZengWileyInternational Journal of Nephrology2090-21582022-01-01202210.1155/2022/4768540Impact of Early versus Late Referral to Nephrologists on Outcomes of Chronic Kidney Disease Patients in Northern IndiaManoj Dhanorkar0Narayan Prasad1Ravi Kushwaha2Manas Behera3Dharmendra Bhaduaria4Monika Yaccha5Manas Patel6Anupama Kaul7Department of NephrologyDepartment of NephrologyDepartment of NephrologyDepartment of NephrologyDepartment of NephrologyDepartment of NephrologyDepartment of NephrologyDepartment of NephrologyBackground. CKD patients are often asymptomatic in the early stages and referred late to nephrologists. Late referred patients carry a poor prognosis. There is a lack of data on outcomes associated with referral patterns in CKD patients from northern India. Methods. In this observational cohort study, all CKD patients who visited the nephrology OPD of the institute between Nov 1, 2018, and Dec 31, 2020, were classified as early referral (ER) if their first encounter with a nephrologist occurred more than one year before initiation of dialysis and education about dialysis (from a nurse or nephrologist). The remaining others were considered late referrals (LRs). The outcomes impact of early and late referrals was analyzed. Results. A total of 992 (male 656) CKD patients (ER, n = 475 and LR, n = 517) were enrolled. Patients referred early were older and diabetic and had higher BMI, better education, occupation, and socioeconomic status as compared to those referred late. The mean eGFR at first contact with the nephrologist was (25.4 ± 11.5 ml/min) in ER and 9.6 ± 5.7 ml/min in the LR group and had a higher comorbidity score. The CKD-MBD parameters, hemoglobin, and nutritional parameters were worse in LR. Only a few patients had AVF, and the majority required emergency dialysis in the LR group. A total of 91 (9.2%) patients died, 17 (1.7% ER and 74 (7.5%) patients in the LR group patients. There was significantly lower survival at 6 months (ER 97.1% vs. LR 89.7%), 12 months (ER 96.4% vs. LR 85.7%), 18 months (ER 96.4% vs. LR 85.7%), and 24 months (ER 96.4% vs. LR 85.7%) in late referral group as compared to early referral group P=0.005. Conclusions. LR to nephrologists has the risk of the emergency start of dialysis with temporary vascular access and had a higher risk of mortality. The timely referral to the nephrologist in the predialysis stage is associated with better survival and reduced mortality.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/4768540
spellingShingle Manoj Dhanorkar
Narayan Prasad
Ravi Kushwaha
Manas Behera
Dharmendra Bhaduaria
Monika Yaccha
Manas Patel
Anupama Kaul
Impact of Early versus Late Referral to Nephrologists on Outcomes of Chronic Kidney Disease Patients in Northern India
International Journal of Nephrology
title Impact of Early versus Late Referral to Nephrologists on Outcomes of Chronic Kidney Disease Patients in Northern India
title_full Impact of Early versus Late Referral to Nephrologists on Outcomes of Chronic Kidney Disease Patients in Northern India
title_fullStr Impact of Early versus Late Referral to Nephrologists on Outcomes of Chronic Kidney Disease Patients in Northern India
title_full_unstemmed Impact of Early versus Late Referral to Nephrologists on Outcomes of Chronic Kidney Disease Patients in Northern India
title_short Impact of Early versus Late Referral to Nephrologists on Outcomes of Chronic Kidney Disease Patients in Northern India
title_sort impact of early versus late referral to nephrologists on outcomes of chronic kidney disease patients in northern india
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/4768540
work_keys_str_mv AT manojdhanorkar impactofearlyversuslatereferraltonephrologistsonoutcomesofchronickidneydiseasepatientsinnorthernindia
AT narayanprasad impactofearlyversuslatereferraltonephrologistsonoutcomesofchronickidneydiseasepatientsinnorthernindia
AT ravikushwaha impactofearlyversuslatereferraltonephrologistsonoutcomesofchronickidneydiseasepatientsinnorthernindia
AT manasbehera impactofearlyversuslatereferraltonephrologistsonoutcomesofchronickidneydiseasepatientsinnorthernindia
AT dharmendrabhaduaria impactofearlyversuslatereferraltonephrologistsonoutcomesofchronickidneydiseasepatientsinnorthernindia
AT monikayaccha impactofearlyversuslatereferraltonephrologistsonoutcomesofchronickidneydiseasepatientsinnorthernindia
AT manaspatel impactofearlyversuslatereferraltonephrologistsonoutcomesofchronickidneydiseasepatientsinnorthernindia
AT anupamakaul impactofearlyversuslatereferraltonephrologistsonoutcomesofchronickidneydiseasepatientsinnorthernindia