Patients over 85 in Carlsbad: Kidney Failure Often Goes Untreated

Kidney Failure Often Untreated in Patients Older Than 85A study involving more than 1.8 million adults in Alberta, Canada, has uncovered an unexpectedly high incidence of untreated kidney failure among the elderly, suggesting the need for more clinical attention to the implications of chronic kidney disorders among extremely old patients.

The study “highlights a potentially sizable unmeasured burden of untreated kidney failure among older adults,” Manjula Kurella Tamura, MD, MPH, and Wolfgang Winkelmayer, MD, MPH, of Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., wrote in an accompanying editorial.

Although perhaps too soon to be conclusive, this points out the need for older adults and their families to be politely but assertively insistent that older adults’ primary care physicians and specialists consider and explain all treatment options, not leaving out any simply because the patient is “older”.  Families of elderly persons living in Carlsbad and elsewhere may wish to consider using the services of a professional geriatric care manager to act as an advocate and expert advisor in such circumstances, especially when the older adult has no family or friends living nearby to help them.

Professional care managers from A Servant’s Heart are available to assist with such needs and make sure that Seniors offered the full range of fair and reasonable treatment options.

See more:  Hemmelgarn B, et al “Rates of treated and untreated kidney failure in older versus younger adults” JAMA 2012; 307:2507-2515. and  Kurella Tamura M, Winkelmayer W “Treated and untreated kidney failure in older adults: what’s the right balance?”JAMA 2012; 307: 2545-2546.

 

Originally posted 2012-06-20 18:08:26.

Tim Colling
Tim Colling

Tim Colling is the founder and President of A Servant's Heart In-Home Care, which provided in-home caregiving services in San Diego County, and also of A Servant's Heart Geriatric Care Management, which provided
professional geriatric care management services and long term care placement services in San Diego County. Tim has more than 30 years of experience in management in a variety of industries. He held a Certified Care Manager credential from the National Academy of Certified Care Managers. Tim is also a Certified Public Accountant (retired), and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from California State University at San Diego. In addition to writing blog posts here for the Servant’s Heart blog, Tim also is a regular contributor to HealthLine.com and to FamilyAffaires.com as well as blogs of other eldercare services provider companies. Finally, Tim is also the president of A Servant's Heart Web Design and Marketing, which provides home care marketing as well as website design and online marketing for those who serve the elderly and their families.

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