Matters of Life and Death: Why Do Older Patients Choose Conservative Management?

Background: Although many older patients with end-stage renal disease and limited prognoses prefer conservative management (CM), it is not widely offered in the United States. Moreover, there is a dearth of US-based literature reporting clinical experience with shared decision making regarding CM of advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods: We describe the clinical experience of 13 patients who opted for CM at the University of Rochester Medical Center's CKD clinic during 2016-2017.