This vignette demonstrates how palliative care improves quality of life and treatment options for patients with chronic kidney disease nearing end-of-life, indicating holistic approaches are necessary
Increasingly, nephrologists struggle with providing care to patients with complex diseases who are heading towards the end of life. In this vignette, we illustrate how to recognize and acknowledge disease progression, tailor treatments to frailty status, and extend high-quality kidney care through to the time of death. Questions answered include how to discuss prognosis while retaining feelings of hope, and tips on how to recognize that the end-of-life may be approaching are included as part of the case discussion. We advocate for modest changes to nephrology care guidelines that promote integration of both high clinical standards and holistic and practical kidney care.
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Loon et al. (2025) studied this question.
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