End-of-Life Care Preferences and Needs

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Despite high mortality rates, surprisingly little research has been done to study chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients' preferences for end-of-life care. The objective of this study was to evaluate end-of-life care preferences of CKD patients to help identify gaps between current end-of-life care practice and patients' preferences and to help prioritize and guide future innovation in end-of-life care policy. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: A total of 584 stage 4 and stage 5 CKD patients were surveyed as they presented to dialysis, transplantation, or predialysis clinics in a Canadian, university-based renal program between January and April 2008. RESULTS: Participants reported relying on the nephrology staff for extensive end-of- life care needs not currently systematically integrated into their renal care, such as pain and symptom management, advance care planning, and psychosocial and spiritual support. Participants also had poor self-reported knowledge of palliative care options and of their illness trajectory. A total of 61% of patients regretted their decision to start dialysis. More patients wanted to die at home (36.1%) or in an inpatient hospice (28.8%) compared with in a hospital (27.4%). Less than 10% of patients reported having had a discussion about end-of-life care issues with their nephrologist in the past 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: Current end-of-life clinical practices do not meet the needs of patients with advanced CKD.