Table 1.
Characteristics of ESRD Network 6 (GA, NC, SC) dialysis facilities that completed the 25 item questionnaire (n=509), stratified by transplant philosophy
| Facility Characteristics | TOTAL (n=509) |
Transplant is our first option (n=124) 24.4% |
Transplant is great for some (n=291) 57.2% |
Transplant is a good option if the patient is interested (n=93) 18.3% |
Compari son p- value† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic and Clinical Characteristics | |||||
| No. patients per facility, median (IQR) |
43.0 (30.0, 67.0) |
43.0 (31.0, 69.0) |
44.0 (29.0, 68.0) |
43.0 (31.0, 69.0) |
0.53 |
| Number of staff, median (IQR) | 11.0 (7.0, 15.0) |
7.0 (7.0, 16.0) |
15.0 (7.0, 15.0) |
11 (7.0, 16.0) |
0.42 |
| % for-profit | 87.0 | 80.6 | 89.3 | 88.2 | 0.05 |
| Patient age, median (IQR) | 61.7 (58.5, 65.0) |
60.9 (56.8, 64.6) |
61.7 (58.8, 65.1) |
60.9 (56.8, 64.6) |
0.09 |
| % of patients classified as white | 37.9 | 38.0 | 40.0 | 38.0 | <0.001 |
| % of patients classified as African American |
60.0 | 60.0 | 57.1 | 60.0 | <0.001 |
| % patients uninsured | 8.7 | 8.3 | 9.5 | 8.3 | 0.20 |
| % patients unemployed | 75.0 | 75.0 | 68.4 | 75.0 | 0.22 |
| Patient time on dialysis (years), median (IQR) |
4.9 (4.2, 5.4) |
4.9 (4.1, 5.4) |
4.8 (4.3, 5.4) |
4.9 (4.1, 5.4) |
0.91 |
| % patients with diabetes | 61.1 | 61.5 | 61.5 | 61.5 | 0.88 |
| % patients with hypertension | 92.3 | 90.9 | 91.9 | 90.9 | 0.02 |
| % patients currently smoking | 6.4 | 6.3 | 6.7 | 6.3 | 0.94 |
| % patients alcohol-dependent | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.31 |
| Patient count of comorbid conditions, median (IQR) |
3.1 (2.5, 3.6) |
3.0 (2.5, 3.5) |
3.1 (2.6, 3.6) |
3.0 (2.5, 3.5) |
0.36 |
| Standardized Transplant Ratio, median (IQR) |
0.6 (0.3, 0.9) |
0.8 (0.4, 1.1) |
0.6 0.4, 0.9) |
0.8 (0.4, 1.1) |
0.02 |
| Dialysis Facility-Reported Characteristics | |||||
| % reporting availability of a patient and caregiver support group |
87.6 | 86.3 | 88.3 | 87.1 | 0.84 |
| % reporting established protocol to educate patients on KTx |
83.9 | 85.5 | 83.2 | 83.9 | 0.84 |
| Number of transplant education resources available, median (IQR) |
6 (4, 7) | 6 (5, 8) | 6 (4, 7) | 5 (4,7) | 0.0004 |
| % perceiving ≥ 50% of their patients: |
|||||
| Are interested in KTx | 18.4 | 28.2 | 16.3 | 11.5 | 0.003 |
| Are eligible for KTx | 23.1 | 36.6 | 17.7 | 21.4 | <0.001 |
| Have been referred for KTx | 37.4 | 55.7 | 31.1 | 32.1 | <0.0001 |
| Have completed evaluation and been waitlisted for KTx |
9.1 | 11.7 | 9.5 | 4.6 | 0.21 |
Abbreviations: IQR, interquartile range; KTx: Kidney Transplantation
†
Chi-square or Kruskal Wallis comparison tests were used to determine statistical differences between categorical or continuous variables, respectively