Initiating Renal Replacement Therapy (RRT)

Initiating Renal Replacement Therapy (RRT) - #6

Take Quiz

Consider quality of life assessment in initiating renal replacement therapy.

Geriatric patient with end stage renal disease (ESRD).

Initiating RRT in a geriatric patient with ESRD.

  1. To review the current evidence based recommendations regarding when to initiate RRT in geriatric patients
  2. To outline multiple methods  that can be used to evaluate a geriatric patient’s candidacy for RRT
  1. American Society of Nephrologists Online Geriatric Curriculum http://www.asn-online.org/education/
  2. Rosansky, SJ; Clark, WF; Eggers, P and Glassock, RJ. Initiation of dialysis at higher GFRs: is the apparent rising tide of early dialysis harmful or helpful? International Society of Nephrology, 2009.
  3. Kurella Tamura M, Covinsky KE, Chertow GM, Yaffe K, Landefeld CS, McCulloch CE. Functional status of elderly adults before and after initiation of dialysis. N Engl J Med 2009; 361:1539-1547.
  4. Alexander R, Smith K, Williams BA, and Lo B.  Discussing Overall Prognosis with the Very Elderly. N Engl J Med 2011; 365:2149-2151.
This GFF ___ my competence in geriatrics.

Christopher J Anderson, Edmund Duthie MD

Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.