Black and Hispanic patients with end-stage renal disease caused by lupus nephritis were 27% less likely to receive pre-ESRD care than were their white counterparts, reported Laura C. Plantinga, Ph.D., and her associates at Emory University, Atlanta.
Using data from the United States Renal Data System, the investigators determined that 71.1% out of a total of 6,594 incident LN-ESRD patients who initiated treatment from 2005 to 2011 received pre-ESRD nephrology care. Lack of insurance or being on Medicaid at the start of ESRD start also was associated with inadequate ESRD care, as those with Medicaid or no insurance were 49% and 64% less likely, respectively, than were those with private insurance to be placed on a kidney transplant wait list.
“Our findings also indicate substantial sociodemographic and regional disparities in the translation of quality-of-care measures related to pre-ESRD care, access to transplant, and placement of permanent vascular access among LN-ESRD patients,” the authors wrote.
Read the entire article, published Feb. 25 in Arthritis & Rheumatology (doi:10.1002/art.38983).