title: Better prevention than cure: optimal patient preparation for renal replacement therapy.
abstract: A generous proportion of end-stage renal disease patients may not be adequately prepared for initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT). Here we review potential benefits of early patient referral to nephrologists and optimal preparation for RRT. We place this evidence in the context of the epidemiological study by Kurella Tamura et al., which shows that voluntary community kidney disease screening and education is associated with better patient preparation and, importantly, improved survival upon initiation of RRT.
authors.affiliation: 1] Divisions of Renal Medicine and Baxter Novum, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden [2] Division of Nephrology, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Peking University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: 1] Divisions of Renal Medicine and Baxter Novum, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden [2] Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Juan Jesús
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Carrero
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D051436:Renal Insufficiency, Chronic / Q000628:therapy*