Management Guidelines for Patients Choosing the Renal Supportive Care (RSC) Pathway: Information and Web-based Treatment Protocols Available to All.

Abstract

Available guidelines fall into 2 categories - medication guides and service provision guides Few guidelines exist for the management of patients choosing to not have dialysis apart from those covering end of life (EOL) management and general ones for the management of chronic kidney disease. Most guidelines are only based on low level evidence, relying on expert opinion or current practice. This limits their usage when advising on matters such as trials of dialysis and caution should be applied when discussing these matters. More data is needed before firmer recommendations can be made. Units in Australia and New Zealand should consider maintaining registers of 'at risk' patients to allow greater input into symptom management and end-of-life support.