Renal palliative care in Australia: time to engage

Conservative Management and End-of-Life Care in an Australian Cohort with ESRD

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

We aimed to determine the proportion of patients who switched to dialysis after confirmed plans for conservative care and compare survival and end-of-life care among patients choosing conservative care with those initiating RRT.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS

A cohort study of 721 patients on incident dialysis, patients receiving transplants, and conservatively managed patients from 66 Australian renal units entered into the Patient Information about Options for Treatment Study from July 1 to September 30, 2009 were followed for 3 years. A two-sided binomial test assessed the proportion of patients who switched from conservative care to RRT. Cox regression, stratified by center and adjusted for patient and treatment characteristics, estimated factors associated with 3-year survival.

RESULTS

In total, 102 of 721 patients planned for conservative care, and median age was 80 years old. Of these, 8% (95% confidence interval, 3% to 13%), switched to dialysis, predominantly for symptom management. Of 94 patients remaining on a conservative pathway, 18% were alive at 3 years. Of the total 721 patients, 247 (34%) died by study end. In multivariable analysis, factors associated with all-cause mortality included older age (hazard ratio, 1.55; 95% confidence interval, 1.36 to 1.77), baseline serum albumin <3.0 versus 3.7-5.4 g/dl (hazard ratio, 4.31; 95% confidence interval, 2.72 to 6.81), and management with conservative care compared with RRT (hazard ratio, 2.18; 95% confidence interval, 1.39 to 3.40). Of 247 deaths, patients managed with RRT were less likely to receive specialist palliative care (26% versus 57%; P<0.001), more likely to die in the hospital (66% versus 42%; P<0.001) than home or hospice, and more likely to receive palliative care only within the last week of life (42% versus 15%; P<0.001) than those managed conservatively.

CONCLUSIONS

Survival after 3 years of conservative management is common, with relatively few patients switching to dialysis. Specialist palliative care services are used more frequently and at an earlier time point for conservatively managed patients, a practice associated with better symptom management and quality of life.

Spirituality in Renal Supportive Care: A Thematic Review

Chronic kidney disease is marked by a reduced life expectancy and a high symptom burden. For those who reach end-stage renal disease, the prognosis is poor, and this combined with the growing prevalence of the disease necessitates supportive and palliative care programmes that will address people's psychosocial, cultural and spiritual needs. While there is variation between countries, research reveals that many renal specialist nurses and doctors are reluctant to address spirituality, initiate end-of-life conversations or implement conservative treatment plans early. Yet, other studies indicate that the provision of palliative care services, which includes the spiritual dimension, can reduce symptom burden, assist patients in making advanced directives/plans and improve health-related quality of life. This review brings together the current literature related to renal supportive care and spirituality under the following sections and themes. The introduction and background sections situate spirituality in both healthcare generally and chronic kidney disease. Gaps in the provision of chronic kidney disease spiritual care are then considered, followed by a discussion of the palliative care model related to chronic kidney disease and spirituality. Chronic kidney disease spiritual needs and care approaches are discussed with reference to advanced care planning, hope, grief and relationships. A particular focus on quality of life is developed, with spirituality named as a key dimension. Finally, further challenges, such as culture, training and limitations, are explicated.

PAlliative Care in chronic Kidney diSease: the PACKS study--quality of life, decision making, costs and impact on carers in people managed without dialysis

Background

The number of patients with advanced chronic kidney disease opting for conservative management rather than dialysis is unknown but likely to be growing as increasingly frail patients with advanced renal disease present to renal services. Conservative kidney management includes ongoing medical input and support from a multidisciplinary team. There is limited evidence concerning patient and carer experience of this choice. This study will explore quality of life, symptoms, cognition, frailty, performance decision making, costs and impact on carers in people with advanced chronic kidney disease managed without dialysis and is funded by the National Institute of Health Research in the UK.

Methods

In this prospective, multicentre, longitudinal study, patients will be recruited in the UK, by renal research nurses, once they have made the decision not to embark on dialysis. Carers will be asked to ‘opt-in’ with consent from patients. The approach includes longitudinal quantitative surveys of quality of life, symptoms, decision making and costs for patients and quality of life and costs for carers, with questionnaires administered quarterly over 12 months. Additionally, the decision making process will be explored via qualitative interviews with renal physicians/clinical nurse specialists.

Discussion

The study is designed to capture patient and carer profiles when conservative kidney management is implemented, and understand trajectories of care-receiving and care-giving with the aim of optimising palliative care for this population. It will explore the interactions that lead to clinical care decisions and the impact of these decisions on informal carers with the intention of improving clinical outcomes for patients and the experiences of care givers.

Experiences of carers supporting dying renal patients managed without dialysis

AIM

To explore the impact of being a family carer to patients with stage 5 chronic kidney disease managed without dialysis.

BACKGROUND

Increasing numbers of patients with renal disease worldwide are making the decision not to embark on dialysis. This group has significant physical and psychological symptom burdens similar to or greater than those in advanced cancer patients. Little is known about the impact on family carers.

DESIGN

Exploratory, qualitative design.

METHODS

The study was undertaken with 19 carers caring for patients managed in a Renal Supportive Care Service in the UK between 2006-2008. Sixty-one semi-structured interviews and detailed field notes inform the analysis.

FINDINGS

'Caring from diagnosis to death' was the overarching theme illustrated by three sub-themes: (i) Caregiver's plight - making sense of the disease and potential deterioration; (ii) Having to care indefinitely; and (iii) Avoiding talk of death. 'Caring from diagnosis to death' coincides with an original concept analysis of renal supportive care, which is considered an adjunct to the management of patients with renal disease at all stages of their illness.

CONCLUSION

There is a clear need for further research internationally and theory-based nursing interventions to support carers of patients managed without dialysis. The development of a holistic, integrated care pathway based on carer perspectives, which includes identification of information needs related to original diagnosis, associated comorbidities, treatment options, prognosis, and assistance in developing strategies to manage communication with patients as the end of life approaches, is required.