Revisions for KDOQI guidelines underway

The National Kidney Foundation and its leadership have begun revisions to the Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative, or KDOQI, guidelines. Updates will be presented on Thursday, April 27, during the Spring Clinical Meetings.

Hemodialysis Adequacy Clinical Practice Guideline: An update to the previous Hemodialysis Adequacy Clinical Practice Guideline has been completed, and a draft is currently out for public review.

Nutrition guidelines

KDOQI has begun working with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to produce nutrition guidelines for chronic kidney disease. The project is in early stages, and the NKF will post progress updates as they become available.

Vascular Access guidelines

Since publication of the 2006 guideline, changes in patient demographics and increasing patient longevity have resulted in a renewed interest in access management. Additionally, new research and changes in practice patterns have generated enough data to warrant revisions to existing guidelines.

Controversies in Care

Clinical care may sometimes be deeply rooted in scientific facts and supported by strong data, but often it is not. Clinicians are frequently faced with clinical questions and dilemmas in which there are no trials or even large observational studies to support decisions. KDOQI 'controversies' commentaries are intended to facilitate communication on such topics between practitioners, and between patients and practitioners. The NKF’s first commentary addressed nutritional vitamin D supplementation in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Primary Care Initiative

The Primary Care Initiative is an NKF program in development, aiming to raise awareness and increase knowledge of chronic kidney disease prevention and detection among primary care physicians (PCPs).

Outreach efforts will include:

An annual session at the annual NKF Spring Clinical Meetings entitled, "Practical CKD knowledge for the primary care practitioner: A case-based workshop."

Holding focus groups with primary care physicians in order to:

identify perceived barriers to caring for patients with chronic kidney disease

identify barriers to PCP‐nephrology collaboration in the care of patients with kidney disease

identify topics, strategies, and resources primary care providers would find helpful in caring for these patients. -by Mark Neumann