Audit of the outcome of patients with renal failure presenting to a regional nephrology service.
AIM: To assess the outcome of patients with renal failure presenting to a regional nephrology unit. METHODS: The records of patients with plasma creatinine concentration > or = 0.30 mmol/L who presented between 1 January 1988 and 31 December 1993, or were already under follow up, were studied. RESULTS: The outcome of 491 patients (293 males) aged from 4.8 to 88.8 years, 123 of whom had acute renal failure, was assessed at 30 June 1994. Thirty seven (30%) of the patients with acute renal failure had died. Of the 372 patients with chronic renal failure 139 had started regular dialysis treatment and 95 were dead, including 27 patients, with a mean age of 71 years, who died of untreated end-stage renal failure (ESRF). For 11 (40%) of these patients the patient and/or family made the decision not to start dialysis treatment. The rates of treatment of ESRF are lower in Canterbury and Westland than those in the Auckland region. The latter can be explained partly by the differences in the demography of the respective populations. CONCLUSION: Death from untreated ESRF is uncommon in Canterbury and Westland. The rates of treatment of ESRF with regular dialysis are lower than in the Auckland region.