Sudden Cardiac Death Reporting in US Dialysis Patients: Comparison of USRDS and National Death Index Data

What is it about?

For patients treated with hemodialysis in the United States, sudden cardiac death is often reported as the main cause of death. This conclusion comes from data collected by the United States Renal Data System (USRDS). However, when we compared these data with death certificate information from the National Death Index (NDI), we found significant differences._x000D_ _x000D_ In our study of 39,507 adults starting dialysis, we identified 6,436 individuals who died between 2003 and 2009. We classified causes of death into categories such as sudden cardiac death, other cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and infections. We found that only 42% of the causes of death matched between the two data sources. The USRDS reported a higher percentage of sudden cardiac death (42%) compared to the NDI (22%). This discrepancy was particularly noticeable for out-of-hospital deaths._x000D_ _x000D_ Our findings highlight the need to improve the accuracy of cause-of-death reporting in the USRDS and integrate data from the NDI. This would help better understand the health risks faced by people treated with dialysis and improve prevention strategies._x000D_

Featured Image