Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39965959›Full record

ArticleCanadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien2025

Older adults with advanced chronic kidney disease and access to palliative care: Retrospective cohort study in primary care.

Helen Tam-Tham, Giulia-Anna Perri, Amy Freedman

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. A field guide to aging.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Helen Tam-ThamFamily physician, palliative care consulting physician, and Clinical Assistant Professor in the departments of family medicine, oncology, and community health sciences at the University of Calgary in Alberta.
Giulia-Anna PerriPalliative care physician and Medical Director for Palliative Care at Baycrest Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Ont, and Assistant Professor in the Division of Palliative Care in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto.
Amy FreedmanFamily physician at St Michael's Academic Family Health Team and Baycrest Health Sciences Centre. She is Lead Physician for the St Michael's Academic Family Health Team Home Visiting Team and Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo describe the provision of primary and specialist palliative care for older adults with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD).

designPopulation-based retrospective descriptive cohort study using electronic health records.

settingSt Michael's Hospital Academic Family Health Team, including 5 clinics and an interdisciplinary home-based outreach team, in Toronto, Ont.

participantsOlder adults who are 65 years of age or older with advanced CKD and undergoing community-based nondialysis kidney care between April 1, 2012, and April 1, 2022, with at least 1 year of follow-up.

main outcome measuresPrevalence of advance care planning, goals of care (GOC) discussions, access to specialized palliative care, frequency of hospitalizations, places of deaths, and mean survival time.

resultsThe study included 47 older adults with advanced CKD who were not undergoing dialysis and receiving primary care. Sixty-eight percent were female (n=32), and the mean (SD) age was 81 (8) years. The mean (SD) number of comorbidities was 5 (2). Almost half of the patients (n=22) lived alone. Seventy percent of the cohort (n=33) had a documented substitute decision maker. Approximately one-third of the cohort (n=16) had GOC conversations involving prognosis, hospital transfer, place of death, and treatment goals. Forty-seven percent (n=22) accessed specialist palliative care during follow-up. Seventy-four percent (n=35) had 1 or more hospitalization. Thirty-two percent (n=8) died at home. The mean (SD) survival time was 2 (2) years.

conclusionA palliative approach to care including advance care planning and GOC conversations would be appropriate for older adults with advanced CKD given their high rates of comorbidities, hospitalizations, and mortality. Primary care providers might experience challenges facilitating conversations in this population, highlighting opportunities for enhanced training and point-of-care interventions, and facilitating access to specialist palliative care consultations when appropriate.

Indexed as

Health Services AccessibilityPalliative CarePrimary Health CareRenal Insufficiency, ChronicAdvance Care PlanningAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHospitalizationHumansMaleOntarioRetrospective Studies

Identifiers

PMID39965959
PMCPMC11998708

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