"This study helps us identify gaps between current end-of-life care practice and patients' preferences and will hopefully help prioritize and guide future innovation in renal end-of-life care policy," wrote Dr. Davison.

Dr. Davison noted that study limitations included the study being single-centered with predominantly white patients and that the answers were provided in response to a questionnaire, making it difficult to interpret patients' understanding of the questions.

In an editorial published in the same issue of CJASN, Daniel Cukor, PhD (State University NY) and Paul Kimmel, MD, FACP (National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Diseases) noted that while more detailed studies are needed to provide clearer pictures of CKD patients' needs regarding end-of life care, Dr. Davison's findings serve as a call to kidney care teams to inquire more about patients' preferences. "While we labor to increase the quantity of life for our patients, we must be cognizant of its quality as well," they wrote. Within the editorial, the doctors also emphasized the role of patient and provider education regarding these issues in the future.

Source: American Society of Nephrology