Frailty could lower kidney failure patients' chances of getting transplant

According to a recent study, frailty is linked to lower likelihoods of being placed on the kidney transplant waitlist and of receiving a transplant.

The findings were presented at ASN Kidney Week 2018 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 of Johns Hopkins Hospital and her colleagues studied 7078 potential kidney transplant candidates from 2009 to 2017.

Patients were considered frail if they had three or more of the following components: unintentional weight loss, decreased grip strength, slowed walking speed, and low activity.

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

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