Mr RUSHATH DE SILVA1, Dr SHARON FORD2, Prof PETER MOUNT1,2
1Department of Medicine (Austin) and Melbourne Medical School (Austin), University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia, 2Department of Nephrology, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Australia
Biography:
Rushath De Silva is a Doctor of Medicine student at the University of Melbourne, currently completing his final year of clinical placement at Austin Health. As part of the Research Scholar Program, he is undertaking a project with the Austin Department of Nephrology, focusing on knowledge of evidence-based treatments in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Aim:
To evaluate knowledge of chronic kidney disease (CKD) monitoring and treatment in people with CKD, and to determine the effect of specialist renal-clinic attendance on consumer CKD knowledge.
Background:
Despite availability of treatments, such as renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi) and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), to reduce the risk of CKD progression to kidney failure, many people with CKD are not on these therapies. The contribution of consumer knowledge gaps to this problem is poorly understood.
Methods:
A survey was administered to two groups of adults with CKD: (1) renal-clinic patients, and (2) non-renal-clinic patients, who had been referred to renal-clinic, but not yet attended.
Results:
89 participants completed the survey: 60 from the renal clinic and 29 from the non-renal clinic group. In both groups, participants reported regular monitoring of blood pressure (96.6%), kidney function (89.9%), and urine protein (88.8%). Knowledge of RASi and SGLT2i medications was poor across both groups, although renal-clinic participants demonstrated higher overall knowledge scores for RASi (22.4% vs 7.9%, P < 0.05) and SGLT2i (22.1% vs 8.5%, P < 0.05). Most on RASi did not know these reduce blood pressure (59.3%), proteinuria (86.4%) and long-term kidney failure risk (72.8%). Furthermore, only a minority on SGLT2i knew they reduce long-term kidney failure risk (42.4%). Concerningly, most patients on RASi (80.2%) and SGLT2i (87.1%) had knowledge gaps in sick day rule actions to take in the event of acute illness.
Conclusions:
Although renal clinic attendance was associated with greater CKD knowledge, significant knowledge gaps remain. Strategies are needed to improve consumer knowledge about CKD therapies that reduce the risk of kidney failure, such as RASi and SGLT2i medications.
Presentation Slides PDF- Click Here