Table 1. Baseline characteristics of patients at initiation of dialysis according to the timing of nephrology referral.
| All 820 | Early referral 430 | Late referral 390 | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male (%) | 496 (60.5) | 252 (58.6) | 244 (62.6) | 0.253 |
| Age, years | 76.3 ± 5.1 | 76.5 ± 5.3 | 76.2 ± 4.9 | 0.501 |
| Diabetes mellitus (%) | 523 (65.3) | 288 (67.3) | 235 (63.0) | 0.207 |
| Hypertension (%) | 803 (98.3) | 422 (98.4) | 381 (98.2) | 1.000 |
| Cardiovascular disease (%) | 297 (36.2) | 178 (41.4) | 119 (30.5) | 0.001 |
| Malignancy (%) | 109 (13.3) | 61 (14.2) | 48 (12.3) | 0.471 |
| Vascular access for the first dialysis * | <0.001 | |||
| AVF/AVG | 197 (187/10) | 150 (145/5) | 47 (42/5) | |
| CVC | 598 | 276 | 322 | |
| Systolic pressure (mmHg) | 130.8 ± 25.6 | 130.1 ± 25.7 | 131.6 ± 25.5 | 0.395 |
| Diastolic pressure (mmHg) | 73.4 ± 14.8 | 72.9 ± 15.0 | 74.1 ± 14.5 | 0.253 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 6.02 ± 2.47 | 6.20 ± 2.35 | 5.83 ± 2.58 | 0.033 |
| eGFR (ml/min/1.73m 2 ) † | 10.48 ± 4.86 | 9.88 ± 4.37 | 11.15 ± 5.26 | <0.001 |
| WBC (/mm 3 ) | 9.4 ± 5.6 | 8.3 ± 4.2 | 10.7 ± 6.5 | <0.001 |
| Hemoglobin (g/dL) | 9.5 ± 1.7 | 9.5 ± 1.6 | 9.4 ± 1.7 | 0.483 |
| Albumin (g/dL) | 3.2 ± 0.6 | 3.4 ± 0.6 | 3.0 ± 0.6 | <0.001 |
| Corrected Ca (mg/dL) | 8.9 ± 0.8 | 8.8 ± 0.7 | 9.0 ± 0.9 | 0.003 |
| P (mg/dL) | 5.0 ± 1.7 | 4.9 ± 1.6 | 5.2 ± 1.9 | 0.012 |
| Follow up duration, months | 25.1 ± 28.1 | 27.5 ± 26.1 | 22.5 ± 30.0 | 0.012 |
Abbreviations: AVF, arteriovenous fistula; AVG, arteriovenous graft; CVC, central venous catheter; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; WBC, white blood cell
* Vascular access was analyzed in 795 patients because of unavailable data.
†eGFR was calculated using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease study equation