Most patients hospitalized with acute kidney injury (AKI) don’t get the follow-up help recommended by specialists, according to a new study. Researchers asked 145 Canadian nephrologists about the factors that influence their likelihood to recommend follow-up for patients after a hospitalization with AKI. These responses were then compared with rates of community follow-up with nephrologists for patients hospitalized with AKI in Alberta between 2005 and 2014. Their results revealed that only 24% of patients that were recommended a follow-up saw a specialist within a year of hospitalization. Follow-ups were less common in patients over 80 years old, and more common among patients with chronic kidney disease.
Authors:
Divya J. Karsanji, Neesh Pannu, Braden J. Manns, Brenda R. Hemmelgarn, Zhi Tan, Kailash Jindal, Nairne Scott-Douglas, Matthew T. James
Corresponding author:
Matthew James, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, AB, Email: mjames@ucalgary.ca
Original paper published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology on October 12, 2017.
