#1469 Predicting mortality risk in incident dialysis patients using clinical predictors and patient-reported predictors
Authors: Milders Jet , Janse Roemer J , Dekker Friedo W , Van Diepen Merel 
Published: May 2024

Background and Aims

Prognostic prediction models can be used to identify dialysis patients that are at high risk of dying. By doing so, vulnerable patients can be monitored more closely and treatment can be intensified where needed. In addition, individualized predictions can help inform patients about their prognosis. Traditionally, prognostic models primarily rely on known clinical predictors such as age, comorbidities and laboratory markers. Although it is still unchartered territory in the field of nephrology, studies in other fields have shown that patient-reported predictors, like pain and fatigue, can be of use as predictors of survival. Predictive performance of current prognostic models for mortality risk amongst dialysis patients is subpar and we hypothesized that the addition of patient-reported predictors may improve predictions. Therefore, we aimed to develop a novel prognostic model for the prediction of two-year mortality in patients starting dialysis using both clinical predictors and patient-reported predictors.

Method

Data from the Netherlands Cooperative Study on the Adequacy of Dialysis (NECOSAD) were used to develop two prognostic models for the prediction of 2-year all-cause mortality in incident dialysis patients: a base model consisting of clinical predictors and an updated model containing additional patient-reported predictors. Missing data were handled using a tenfold multiple imputation with fully conditional specification. The imputation model included all candidate predictors as well as the outcome variable of 2-year mortality. Predictors for the base model were selected based on existing mortality models and clinical expertise. Patient-reported predictors to add to the base model were chosen based on availability in NECOSAD, clinical expertise and literature describing patient-reported predictors. The models were developed using multivariate logistic regression and their discriminative abilities were assessed by calculating the area under the curve (AUC).

Results

A total of 1956 patients from NECOSAD were used for the analyses. Of these, 447 (22.9%) died within two years after baseline (3 months after dialysis initiation). The base model contained the following predictors: age, sex, serum albumin, C-reactive protein, diabetes mellitus, hemoglobin, residual kidney function (GFR at 3 months), body mass index, cardiovascular disease, dialysis modality, malignancy and primary kidney disease. The discriminative abilities of the base model were moderate with a AUC of 0.79 (95% CI: 0.77-0.82). The base model was updated using the following patient-reported predictors: mental component score, physical component score, general health perception, number of symptoms, symptom burden (measured with the KDQOL instrument) depressive symptoms, fatigue and pain. The addition of the patient-reported predictors marginally improved the predictive performance of the model achieving an AUC of 0.81 (95% CI: 0.79-0.84).

Conclusion

The base model including clinical predictors was enhanced slightly by the addition of patient-reported predictors.