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Topic Spotlight
Kidney Disease
PCORI Answers Critical Questions
Evidence gaps can make it difficult to know which kidney disease treatment will work best given a patient’s needs. PCORI funds studies that seek to help patients, clinicians and others answer various questions they might have about treatment options, such as:
Caregiver: I’m overwhelmed trying to understand the pros and cons of treatment options now that my father’s kidneys have shut down. How can we feel confident we’re making the best choices?
Patient: My doctor suggests I take a blood-thinning drug to avoid developing another blood clot. But she acknowledges she doesn’t know how well these drugs work in people with chronic kidney disease, like me. Should I take one of these drugs? If so, which one?
Doctor: Here on the Zuni Indian Reservation in New Mexico, many people need dialysis for kidney disease. Would our tribe’s health improve if indigenous community health workers provided care in patients’ homes instead of patients having to come to our clinic?
Study Results that Support Better-Informed Decisions
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For Hemodialysis Patients, Depression Drug Worked Better than Cognitive Therapy More patients with kidney failure undergoing long-term hemodialysis who also had depression reported modest improvements in their depressive symptoms with the drug sertraline than patients receiving cognitive behavioral therapy, PCORI-funded researchers report in the Annals of Internal Medicine. However, patients who opted for the daily medication experienced greater adverse events, such as nausea and dizziness. |
Kidney Disease Study Spotlights
Kidney Transplants through Health System Change
This study is looking into whether a more proactive outreach program can help patients with kidney failure overcome roadblocks to receive transplants earlier in the course of disease.
Choosing Kidney Failure Treatments Early
This study is testing whether, compared with usual care, a patient-centered approach to transitional care improves outcomes for patients with kidney failure.
Extended Treatment of Blood Clots in People with Kidney Disease
Choosing drugs that prevent recurrence of deep-vein blood clots is challenging for people with impaired kidney function. This study compares the drugs’ benefits and risks over the long term.