Frailty may lower kidney failure patients' likelihood of receiving a transplant

Frailty is associated with lower likelihoods of being placed on the kidney transplant waitlist and of receiving a transplant, according to a study that will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2018 October 23-October 28 at the San Diego Convention Center.

To investigate whether frailty in patients with kidney failure may affect their likelihood of receiving a kidney transplant, Christine Haugen, MD (Johns Hopkins Hospital) and her colleagues studied 7078 potential kidney transplant candidates from 2009 to 2017. Patients were considered frail if they had 3 or more of the following components: unintentional weight loss, decreased grip strength, slowed walking speed, and low activity.

Frail participants were 38% less likely to be listed for transplantation, had nearly twofold increased risk of dying while on the transplant waitlist mortality, and underwent transplantation at a 35% lower rate than nonfrail participants.

"Prehabilitation may be a useful tool to increase physiologic reserve and subsequently improve access to kidney transplantation among frail patients," said Dr. Haugen.