Race and geography may influence late-stage kidney care

By Trevor Stokes NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – At the end of life, black kidney disease patients are more likely than white patients to continue intensive dialysis instead of choosing hospice care, according to a new study. Researchers also found that racial differences in kidney disease treatments became more extreme in the highest Medicare spending regions of the U.S. “Racial differences exist; when you add the component of geography, those racial differences widen,” said study author Dr. Bernadette Thomas, senior clinical research nephrology fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. …