Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015 Oct 30;3(4):1075-85.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare3041075.

Ageing Renal Patients: We Need More Collaboration between Geriatric Services and Nephrology Departments

Helen Alston  1 , Aine Burns  2
Affiliations
Review

Ageing Renal Patients: We Need More Collaboration between Geriatric Services and Nephrology Departments

Helen Alston et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

There has been a significant increase in the number of frail older patients diagnosed with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) over the past thirty years. These elderly patients have high levels of comorbidity, and as a consequence the face of renal medicine is changing-There is an increasing need to focus on traditionally geriatric areas of expertise such as falls prevention and rehabilitation, and to shift our emphasis onto improving patient well-being rather than longevity. Over the past decade, many nephrologists have found that they are already acting as de facto "amateur geriatricians". This denies patients both the benefits of specialist geriatric assessment, and equally importantly denies them access to the wider geriatric multidisciplinary team. This article describes the prevalence and underlying causes of the so-called "Geriatric Giants" in patients with advanced CKD, and discusses possible improvements in care that closer working with geriatricians could bring.

Keywords: geriatrics; multidisciplinary working; nephrology; patient-centred care; quality of life.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Rao A., Casula A., Castledine C. UK Renal Registry 17th annual report: Chapter 1 UK renal replacement therapy incidence in 2013: National and centre-specific analyses. Nephron. 2015;129:31–56. doi: 10.1159/000370272. - DOI - PubMed
    1. End-Stage Kidney Disease in Australia: Total Incidence 2003–2007. [(accessed on 20 September 2015)]; Available online: http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=10737419269.
    1. Locatelli F., Pozzoni P. Chronic kidney disease in the elderly: Is it really a premise for overwhelming renal failure? Kidney Int. 2006;69:2118–2120. doi: 10.1038/sj.ki.5001547. - DOI - PubMed
    1. El‐Ghoul B., Elie C., Sqalli T., Jungers P., Daudon M., Grünfeld J.P., Lesavre P., Joly D. Nonprogressive kidney dysfunction and outcomes in older adults with chronic kidney disease. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 2009;57:2217–2223. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2009.02561.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hemmelgarn B.R., Zhang J., Manns B.J., Tonelli M., Larsen E., Ghali W.A., Southern D.A., McLaughlin K., Mortis G., Culleton B.F. Progression of kidney dysfunction in the community-dwelling elderly. Kidney Int. 2006;69:2155–2161. doi: 10.1038/sj.ki.5000270. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources