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Porteny T, Gonzales KM, Aufort KE, Levine S, Wong JB, Isakova T, Rifkin DE, Gordon EJ, Rossi A, Di Perna G, Koch-Weser S, Weiner DE, Ladin K. Treatment Decision Making for Older Kidney Patients during COVID-19. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2022; 17:957-965. [PMID: 35672037 PMCID: PMC9269620 DOI: 10.2215/cjn.13241021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disrupted medical care across health care settings for older patients with advanced CKD. Understanding how shared decision making for kidney treatment decisions was influenced by the uncertainty of an evolving pandemic can provide insights for supporting shared decision making through the current and future public health crises. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS We performed thematic and narrative analyses of semistructured interviews with patients (CKD stages 4 and 5, age 70+), care partners, and clinicians from Boston, Portland (Maine), San Diego, and Chicago from August to December 2020. RESULTS We interviewed 76 participants (39 patients, 17 care partners, and 20 clinicians). Among patient participants, 13 (33%) patients identified as Black, and seven (18%) had initiated dialysis. Four themes with corresponding subthemes emerged related to treatment decision making and the COVID-19 pandemic: (1) adapting to changed educational and patient engagement practices (patient barriers to care and new opportunities for telemedicine); (2) reconceptualizing vulnerability (clinician awareness of illness severity increased and limited discussions of patient COVID-19 vulnerability); (3) embracing home-based dialysis but not conservative management (openness to home-based modalities and limited discussion of conservative management and advanced care planning); and (4) satisfaction and safety with treatment decisions despite conditions of uncertainty. CONCLUSIONS Although clinicians perceived greater vulnerability among older patients CKD and more readily encouraged home-based modalities during the COVID-19 pandemic, their discussions of vulnerability, advance care planning, and conservative management remained limited, suggesting areas for improvement. Clinicians reported burnout caused by the pandemic, increased time demands, and workforce limitations, whereas patients remained satisfied with their treatment choices despite uncertainty. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY NAME AND REGISTRATION NUMBER Decision Aid for Renal Therapy (DART), NCT03522740.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thalia Porteny
- Lab for Research on Ethics, Aging and Community Health, Departments of Occupational Therapy and Community Health, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
| | - Kristina M. Gonzales
- Lab for Research on Ethics, Aging and Community Health, Departments of Occupational Therapy and Community Health, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
| | - Kate E. Aufort
- Lab for Research on Ethics, Aging and Community Health, Departments of Occupational Therapy and Community Health, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
| | - Sarah Levine
- William B. Schwartz MD Division of Nephrology, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - John B. Wong
- Division of Clinical Medicine, Department of Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Tamara Isakova
- Center for Translational Metabolism and Health, Institute for Public Health and Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Dena E. Rifkin
- Division of Nephrology, Veterans’ Affairs Healthcare System, San Diego, California,Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California
| | - Elisa J. Gordon
- Department of Surgery, Division of Transplantation, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois,Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research, Institute of Public Health and Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Ana Rossi
- Piedmont Transplant Institute, Atlanta, Georgia
| | | | - Susan Koch-Weser
- Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Daniel E. Weiner
- William B. Schwartz MD Division of Nephrology, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Keren Ladin
- Lab for Research on Ethics, Aging and Community Health, Departments of Occupational Therapy and Community Health, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
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Wong SP, Oestreich T, Chandler B, Curtis JR. Using Human-Centered Design Principles to Create a Decision Aid on Conservative Kidney Management for Advanced Kidney Disease. KIDNEY360 2022; 3:1242-1252. [PMID: 35919540 PMCID: PMC9337892 DOI: 10.34067/kid.0000392022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Background Most patients are unaware of approaches to treating advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) other than dialysis. Methods We developed a dedicated decision aid on conservative kidney management using human-centered design principles in three phases: (1) discovery: engagement of informants to understand their needs and preferences; (2) design: multiple rapid cycles of ideation, prototyping, and testing of a decision aid with a small group of informants; and (3) implementation: testing the decision aid in real-world settings with attention to how the decision aid can be further refined. Informants included a national patient advisory committee on kidney diseases, 50 patients with stage 4 or 5 CKD and 35 of their family members, and 16 clinicians recruited from the greater Seattle area between June 2019 and September 2021. Results Findings from the discovery phase informed an initial prototype of the decision aid, which included five sections: a description of kidney disease and its signs and symptoms, an overview of conservative kidney management and the kinds of supports provided, self-reflection exercises to elicit patients' values and goals, the pros and cons of conservative kidney management, and the option of changing one's mind about conservative kidney management. The prototype underwent several rounds of iteration during its design phase, which resulted in the addition of an introductory section describing the intended audience and more detailed information in other sections. Findings from its implementation phase led to the addition of examples of common questions that patients and family members had about conservative kidney management and a final section on other related educational resources. Conclusions Human-centered design principles supported a systematic and collaborative approach between researchers, patients, family members, and clinicians for developing a decision aid on conservative kidney management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan P.Y. Wong
- VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Division of Nephrology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington,University of Washington, School of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Seattle, Washington
| | - Taryn Oestreich
- University of Washington, School of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Seattle, Washington
| | - Bridgett Chandler
- University of Washington, School of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Seattle, Washington
| | - J. Randall Curtis
- University of Washington, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Seattle, Washington
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Wong SPY, Rubenzik T, Zelnick L, Davison SN, Louden D, Oestreich T, Jennerich AL. Long-term Outcomes Among Patients With Advanced Kidney Disease Who Forgo Maintenance Dialysis: A Systematic Review. JAMA Netw Open 2022; 5:e222255. [PMID: 35285915 PMCID: PMC9907345 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.2255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE An understanding of the long-term outcomes of patients with advanced chronic kidney disease not treated with maintenance dialysis is needed to improve shared decision-making and care practices for this population. OBJECTIVE To evaluate survival, use of health care resources, changes in quality of life, and end-of-life care of patients with advanced kidney disease who forgo dialysis. EVIDENCE REVIEW MEDLINE, Embase (Excerpta Medica Database), and CINAHL (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature) were searched from inception through December 3, 2021, for all English language longitudinal studies of adults in whom there was an explicit decision not to pursue maintenance dialysis. Two investigators independently reviewed all studies and selected those reporting survival, use of health care resources, changes in quality of life, or end-of-life care during follow-up. Studies of patients who initiated and then discontinued maintenance dialysis and patients in whom it was not clear that there was an explicit decision to forgo dialysis were excluded. One author abstracted all study data, of which 12% was independently adjudicated by a second author (<1% error rate). FINDINGS Forty-one cohort studies comprising 5102 patients (range, 11-812 patients) were included in this systematic review (5%-99% men; mean age range, 60-87 years). Substantial heterogeneity in study designs and measures used to report outcomes limited comparability across studies. Median survival of cohorts ranged from 1 to 41 months as measured from a baseline mean estimated glomerular filtration rate ranging from 7 to 19 mL/min/1.73 m2. Patients generally experienced 1 to 2 hospital admissions, 6 to 16 in-hospital days, 7 to 8 clinic visits, and 2 emergency department visits per person-year. During an observation period of 8 to 24 months, mental well-being improved, and physical well-being and overall quality of life were largely stable until late in the illness course. Among patients who died during follow-up, 20% to 76% had enrolled in hospice, 27% to 68% died in a hospital setting and 12% to 71% died at home; 57% to 76% were hospitalized, and 4% to 47% received an invasive procedure during the final month of life. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Many patients who do not pursue dialysis survived several years and experienced sustained quality of life until late in the illness course. Nonetheless, use of acute care services was common and intensity of end-of-life care highly variable across cohorts. These findings suggest that consistent approaches to the study of conservative kidney management are needed to enhance the generalizability of findings and develop models of care that optimize outcomes among conservatively managed patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan P. Y. Wong
- Health Services Research and Development Center, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, Washington
- Division of Nephrology, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Tamara Rubenzik
- Divisions of Nephrology and Geriatrics, Gerontology and Palliative Care, University of California, San Diego
| | - Leila Zelnick
- Division of Nephrology, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Sara N. Davison
- Division of Nephrology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Diana Louden
- Health Sciences Library, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Taryn Oestreich
- Health Services Research and Development Center, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, Washington
- Division of Nephrology, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Ann L. Jennerich
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle
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Voorend CGN, van Oevelen M, Verberne WR, van den Wittenboer ID, Dekkers OM, Dekker F, Abrahams AC, van Buren M, Mooijaart SP, Bos WJW. OUP accepted manuscript. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2022; 37:1529-1544. [PMID: 35195249 PMCID: PMC9317173 DOI: 10.1093/ndt/gfac010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Non-dialytic conservative care (CC) has been proposed as a treatment option for patients with kidney failure. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims at comparing survival outcomes between dialysis and CC in studies where patients made an explicit treatment choice. Methods Five databases were systematically searched from origin through 25 February 2021 for studies comparing survival outcomes among patients choosing dialysis versus CC. Adjusted and unadjusted survival rates were extracted and meta-analysis performed where applicable. Risk of bias analysis was performed according to the Cochrane Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies of Interventions. Results A total of 22 cohort studies were included covering 21 344 patients. Most studies were prone to selection bias and confounding. Patients opting for dialysis were generally younger and had fewer comorbid conditions, fewer functional impairments and less frailty than patients who chose CC. The unadjusted median survival from treatment decision or an estimated glomerular filtration rate <15 mL/min/1.73 m2 ranged from 20 and 67 months for dialysis and 6 and 31 months for CC. Meta-analysis of 12 studies that provided adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for mortality showed a pooled adjusted HR of 0.47 (95% confidence interval 0.39–0.57) for patients choosing dialysis compared with CC. In subgroups of patients with older age or severe comorbidities, the reduction of mortality risk remained statistically significant, although analyses were unadjusted. Conclusions Patients opting for dialysis have an overall lower mortality risk compared with patients opting for CC. However, a high risk of bias and heterogeneous reporting preclude definitive conclusions and results cannot be translated to an individual level.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Wouter R Verberne
- Department of Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Department of Internal Medicine, St Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands
- Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | | | - Olaf M Dekkers
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Friedo Dekker
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Alferso C Abrahams
- Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Marjolijn van Buren
- Department of Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Department of Internal Medicine, Haga Hospital, The Hague, The Netherlands
| | - Simon P Mooijaart
- Department of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Willem Jan W Bos
- Department of Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Department of Internal Medicine, St Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands
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Knaul FM, Touchton M, Arreola-Ornelas H, Atun R, Anyosa RJCC, Frenk J, Martínez-Valle A, McDonald T, Porteny T, Sánchez-Talanquer M, Victora C. Punt Politics as Failure of Health System Stewardship: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic Response in Brazil and Mexico. LANCET REGIONAL HEALTH. AMERICAS 2021; 4:100086. [PMID: 34664040 PMCID: PMC8514423 DOI: 10.1016/j.lana.2021.100086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
We present a new concept, Punt Politics, and apply it to the COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) in two epicenters of the pandemic: Mexico and Brazil. Punt Politics refers to national leaders in federal systems deferring or deflecting responsibility for health systems decision-making to sub-national entities without evidence or coordination. The fragmentation of authority and overlapping functions in federal, decentralized political systems make them more susceptible to coordination problems than centralized, unitary systems. We apply the concept to pandemics, which require national health system stewardship, using sub-national NPI data that we developed and curated through the Observatory for the Containment of COVID-19 in the Americas to illustrate Punt Politics in Mexico and Brazil. Both countries suffer from protracted, high levels of COVID-19 mortality and inadequate pandemic responses, including little testing and disregard for scientific evidence. We illustrate how populist leadership drove Punt Politics and how partisan politics contributed to disabling an evidence-based response in Mexico and Brazil. These cases illustrate the combination of decentralization and populist leadership that is most conducive to punting responsibility. We discuss how Punt Politics reduces health system functionality, providing lessons for other countries and future pandemic responses, including vaccine rollout.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felicia Marie Knaul
- Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA,Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA,Fundación Mexicana para la Salud, Mexico City, Mexico,Tómatelo a Pecho, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Michael Touchton
- Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA,Department of Political Science, Institute for Advanced Studies of the Americas, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA,Corresponding author: Michael Touchton, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Héctor Arreola-Ornelas
- Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA,Fundación Mexicana para la Salud, Mexico City, Mexico,Tómatelo a Pecho, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Rifat Atun
- Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Renzo JC Calderon Anyosa
- Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA,School of Public Health, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru,Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | | | - Adolfo Martínez-Valle
- Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA,Centro de Investigación en Políticas, Población y Salud, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Tim McDonald
- Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA,RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, USA
| | - Thalia Porteny
- Departments of Community Health and Occupational Therapy, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA
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Mathur MB, VanderWeele TJ. Methods to Address Confounding and Other Biases in Meta-Analyses: Review and Recommendations. Annu Rev Public Health 2021; 43:19-35. [PMID: 34535060 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-051920-114020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Meta-analyses contribute critically to cumulative science, but they can produce misleading conclusions if their constituent primary studies are biased, for example by unmeasured confounding in nonrandomized studies. We provide practical guidance on how meta-analysts can address confounding and other biases that affect studies' internal validity, focusing primarily on sensitivity analyses that help quantify how biased the meta-analysis estimates might be. We review a number of sensitivity analysis methods to do so, especially recent developments that are straightforward to implement and interpret and that use somewhat less stringent statistical assumptions than do earlier methods. We give recommendations for how these newer methods could be applied in practice and illustrate using a previously published meta-analysis. Sensitivity analyses can provide informative quantitative summaries of evidence strength, and we suggest reporting them routinely in meta-analyses of potentially biased studies. This recommendation in no way diminishes the importance of defining study eligibility criteria that reduce bias and of characterizing studies' risks of bias qualitatively. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Public Health, Volume 43 is April 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya B Mathur
- Quantitative Sciences Unit and Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA;
| | - Tyler J VanderWeele
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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7
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Blum MF, Sozio SM. Conservative Kidney Management Versus Dialysis Initiation: Can New Statistical Tools Help Understand the Bias in This Choice? Kidney Med 2021; 3:18-19. [PMID: 33605944 PMCID: PMC7873830 DOI: 10.1016/j.xkme.2020.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew F. Blum
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Stephen M. Sozio
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
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