The 108
participants who were part of the pilot group were given a medical-alert
bracelet or necklace with the diagnosis of CKD indicated and a website with
safe CKD practices displayed. Subsequently, 242 patients, part of the observation
group, received usual care. The frequency of safety events and adverse outcomes
in all the participants were reviewed during their annual visits.
The
respective median follow-up of both the pilot and observation groups were 4.3
and 3.1 years.
Reports following the annual visits which included the frequency of
safety events or any inadvertent harm from medical therapy were not different
in both the groups.
A 62% lower risk of developing kidney
failure, after adjustments, was found to be associated with
wearing a medical-alert accessory. However, no significant
difference in rates of hospitalization or death was found between the group
that used the accessory and the observation group.
"We were hoping to show that provision of the
accessory might show a reduction in adverse safety events but this was not the
case in this relatively small sample. So any potential reduction in poor
outcomes associated with the medical alert accessory did not appear to be
mediated through a reduction in safety events," said Dr. Fink.
On what the
study promises for the future, he added,
"However,
this pilot study suggests that provision of the medical-alert accessory has the
potential to lead to improved outcomes like the reduced incidence of end-stage kidney disease."
The study
team has called for a randomized trial to assess the potential of medical-alert
accessories in helping individuals with kidney dysfunction.
Reference :- Chronic Kidney Disease Patients may benefit from Medical-alert Bracelets -
(https://cjasn.asnjournals.org/content/early/2019/06/05/CJN.13531118)
