Publications by authors named "Mark P Rutkowski"

Article Synopsis
  • Patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) are at high risk for severe COVID-19, and the safety of remdesivir in this group was studied due to limited prior data.
  • A retrospective study analyzed 486 hospitalized dialysis patients, comparing those treated with remdesivir to those who were not, focusing on 30-day mortality and other health outcomes.
  • Results showed no higher risks of liver injury or ICU admissions in remdesivir-treated patients, and there was a trend suggesting lower 30-day mortality with the drug.
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Background: Healthcare systems and providers are encouraged to prepare their patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) for a planned start to renal replacement therapies (RRT). Less well understood are the socioemotional experiences surrounding the optimal start of RRT versus suboptimal haemodialysis (HD) starts with a central catheter.

Objectives: To characterise the experiences of patients beginning RRT.

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Objectives: The Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC) creatinine safety program (Creatinine SureNet) identifies and outreaches to thousands of people annually who may have had a missed diagnosis for chronic kidney disease (CKD). We sought to determine the value of this outpatient program and evaluate opportunities for improvement.

Methods: Longitudinal cohort study (February 2010 through December 2015) of KPSC members captured into the creatinine safety program who were characterized using demographics, laboratory results, and different estimations of glomerular filtration rate.

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Background: Chronic kidney disease is highly prevalent but is challenging to diagnose because of the need to establish chronicity. Within the current healthcare environment, a single abnormal creatinine measurement often can go without a follow-up, which can lead to missed diagnoses or diagnostic errors. The Kaiser Permanente Southern California creatinine safety program (the Creatinine SureNet) was created to help ensure that all single abnormal creatinine results had a follow-up evaluation.

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Background: Current evidence does not clearly identify the contribution of kidney function decline and mortality to racial disparities in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) incidence. We used observed estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) to project the time of onset of kidney failure and examined mortality to better understand these racial disparities.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort.

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African Americans have the highest incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the United States. To understand the basis of this disparity, we examined data from a prepaid, integrated health system for this retrospective cohort study of members who had one or more serum creatinine tests performed over a 9-year period. The cohort included 182,959 adults (8% black) with stage 3 or 4 chronic kidney disease based on their estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

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