Advanced Kidney Disease

Each year, the American Society of Nephrology recognizes nephrologists who are impactful early in their careers and have announced this year’s honorees.

A study of provider prescribing patterns revealed patients with advanced chronic kidney disease, especially those on dialysis, had lower rates of osteoporosis treatment than patients with earlier stages of kidney disease.

The National Kidney Foundation is investigating decisions by some health systems to use state emergency preparedness policies to create protocols that place patients on dialysis who are diagnosed with COVID-19 toward the bottom of the list of priorities for ventilators if these machines become in short supply.

Two key measures of sleep apnea — nocturnal hypoxemia and mean oxygen saturation — were associated with increased mortality risk for patients with advanced kidney disease, according to this study.

Surveyed patients undergoing dialysis were either uncertain or overly optimistic about their prognosis, frequently estimating life expectancy to be longer than is likely, according to a recently published study.

A national reckoning with racism in 2020, amplified by COVID-19 and stark economic and structural inequities, galvanized the nephrology community to address the role of racism in producing multi-decade kidney health disparities.