Children with Chronic Kidney Disease Have Outsized Health Burden – Michigan Medicine

Children with chronic kidney disease spent about 30% longer in the hospital (an average of 2.8 days compared to 1.8 days for those without a chronic kidney disease) with nearly 60% more in hospital expenses ($8,755 per hospitalization compared to $5,016.)

Children with chronic kidney disease were also 50% more likely to die during hospitalization.

Data on in-hospital mortality for children with chronic illnesses is lacking, but we know that hospitalizations with a chronic kidney disease diagnosis have a higher mortality than those with other chronic condition diagnoses with the exception of heart failure, Modi says.

The fact that these children are potentially at higher risk of death while hospitalized should prompt providers to closely evaluate management strategies.

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That may mean bringing nephrologists in earlier if they are not already involved in patients care, making sure to avoid medications that could make kidney function worse as well as other steps that will improve care for these patients, Modi notes.

The high health care expenses for hospitalized pediatric patients with end-stage kidney disease, including dialysis, transplantation, and associated complications may be comparable to hospitalized heart failure patients, authors say.

Kidney disease may be associated with more medical complexities, authors say. The causes of chronic kidney disease in children include genetic disorders, congenital anomalies that may be part of a multi-organ system syndrome and systemic inflammatory disorders. A recent study from the UK reported that adult kidney disease patients also have a greater degree of medical complexity than patients seen by any other specialty.

Chronic kidney disease can be a devastating illness with many long-term consequences, Modi says. Some features of chronic kidney disease that start during childhood will have a significant impact on patients lives through adulthood.

We need further studies to better understand the health care needs and delivery of care to hospitalized children with chronic kidney disease in order to optimize health outcomes."

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Children with Chronic Kidney Disease Have Outsized Health Burden - Michigan Medicine