The profile of patients with chronic kidney disease who regularly present at an Australian general practice

© 2015 Taylor & Francis Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common, serious and mostly asymptomatic condition that places considerable burden on the Australian healthcare system. Yet there is limited information on the patients with CKD who present to Australian primary care services,...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jiwa, M., Chakera, Aron, Dadich, A., Meng, X., Kanjo, E.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/14147
_version_ 1848748544013369344
author Jiwa, M.
Chakera, Aron
Dadich, A.
Meng, X.
Kanjo, E.
author_facet Jiwa, M.
Chakera, Aron
Dadich, A.
Meng, X.
Kanjo, E.
author_sort Jiwa, M.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2015 Taylor & Francis Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common, serious and mostly asymptomatic condition that places considerable burden on the Australian healthcare system. Yet there is limited information on the patients with CKD who present to Australian primary care services, which represent the gateway to specialized care. Methods: Data pertaining to 31,897 patients who presented to a general practice in Western Australia, from 1 January 2013 to 30 June 2014 (inclusive), were extracted for review. Data included attendance records, comorbidities, diagnoses, and demographic details. Binary logistic regression was used to compare patients diagnosed with CKD by the consulting general practitioner with those without this diagnosis. Results: Of the 8629 patients who regularly attended the practice, 184 (2%) were diagnosed with CKD (mean age: 77.7 years; male: 57.1%). The stage of CKD was recorded in only 8.4% of cases. Patients with CKD averaged 11 more consultations in the past 18 months (mean difference 10.8, 95% CI [9.3, 12.3], p?<?.001). They were also more likely to: be male; be ex-smokers; be widowed; and to have a carer. Their most common comorbidities included acute infections, cerebrovascular or ischemic heart disease, osteopenia or osteoporosis, and cancer; 8.7% had died within the previous year. Conclusions: Despite the prevalence of CKD, only one in five cases were recorded within this large practice. This reveals lost opportunities to monitor and manage patients with this chronic and common disease. Although this represents an important finding, this study is limited by the reliance on practice records, some of which were incomplete. Nevertheless, this study reveals two key findings. First, this disease is under-diagnosed and/or under-recorded. Second, patients with CKD have other, potentially unrelated, problems that may warrant attention.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T07:06:43Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-14147
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T07:06:43Z
publishDate 2015
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-141472017-09-13T14:06:27Z The profile of patients with chronic kidney disease who regularly present at an Australian general practice Jiwa, M. Chakera, Aron Dadich, A. Meng, X. Kanjo, E. © 2015 Taylor & Francis Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common, serious and mostly asymptomatic condition that places considerable burden on the Australian healthcare system. Yet there is limited information on the patients with CKD who present to Australian primary care services, which represent the gateway to specialized care. Methods: Data pertaining to 31,897 patients who presented to a general practice in Western Australia, from 1 January 2013 to 30 June 2014 (inclusive), were extracted for review. Data included attendance records, comorbidities, diagnoses, and demographic details. Binary logistic regression was used to compare patients diagnosed with CKD by the consulting general practitioner with those without this diagnosis. Results: Of the 8629 patients who regularly attended the practice, 184 (2%) were diagnosed with CKD (mean age: 77.7 years; male: 57.1%). The stage of CKD was recorded in only 8.4% of cases. Patients with CKD averaged 11 more consultations in the past 18 months (mean difference 10.8, 95% CI [9.3, 12.3], p?<?.001). They were also more likely to: be male; be ex-smokers; be widowed; and to have a carer. Their most common comorbidities included acute infections, cerebrovascular or ischemic heart disease, osteopenia or osteoporosis, and cancer; 8.7% had died within the previous year. Conclusions: Despite the prevalence of CKD, only one in five cases were recorded within this large practice. This reveals lost opportunities to monitor and manage patients with this chronic and common disease. Although this represents an important finding, this study is limited by the reliance on practice records, some of which were incomplete. Nevertheless, this study reveals two key findings. First, this disease is under-diagnosed and/or under-recorded. Second, patients with CKD have other, potentially unrelated, problems that may warrant attention. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/14147 10.1185/03007995.2015.1109505 restricted
spellingShingle Jiwa, M.
Chakera, Aron
Dadich, A.
Meng, X.
Kanjo, E.
The profile of patients with chronic kidney disease who regularly present at an Australian general practice
title The profile of patients with chronic kidney disease who regularly present at an Australian general practice
title_full The profile of patients with chronic kidney disease who regularly present at an Australian general practice
title_fullStr The profile of patients with chronic kidney disease who regularly present at an Australian general practice
title_full_unstemmed The profile of patients with chronic kidney disease who regularly present at an Australian general practice
title_short The profile of patients with chronic kidney disease who regularly present at an Australian general practice
title_sort profile of patients with chronic kidney disease who regularly present at an australian general practice
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/14147