BackgroundScreening programs may help to address the burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Australia. Public awareness is an important determinant of the uptake of screening programs. However, data on the public knowledge of CKD in Australia is lacking. The aim of this study was to develop a validated questionnaire and assess the Australian public knowledge of CKD.MethodsA CKD knowledge questionnaire was developed after reviewing the literature and discussions with nephrology experts. Content validity was performed by nephrologists (n = 3), renal nurses (n = 3) and research personnel (n = 4). The questionnaire was piloted in 121 public participants. Next, discriminant validation was performed by recruiting two additional groups of participants: final year undergraduate pharmacy students (n = 28) and nephrologists (n = 27). Reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha. Next, a cross-sectional survey of the Australian public (n = 943) was conducted by using the validated questionnaire. It was administered using an online Omnibus survey. Quota sampling was used for participant selection and to ensure that the final sample would match the key characteristics of the Australian population. Finally, a standard multiple regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of the public knowledge.ResultsThe median CKD knowledge scores of the public, students and nephrologists were 12, 19 and 23 (maximum score of 24), respectively, with statistically significant differences in the scores across the three groups (p < 0.001; Kruskal-Wallis test). The Cronbach’s alpha was 0.88 (95% CI: 0.86–0.91), indicating that the questionnaire had good internal consistency. In the cross-sectional survey of the Australian public, the participants’ mean (SD) age was 47.6 (±16.6) years and 51.2% were female. The mean (SD) knowledge score was 10.3 (± 5.0). The multivariate analysis showed that participants with a higher level of education; with a family history of kidney failure; with a personal history of diabetes; and currently or previously living in a relationship had significantly higher knowledge scores.ConclusionThe Australian public knowledge of CKD was relatively poor. Improving public knowledge may assist in increasing early detection and subsequent management of CKD in Australia.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-5301-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The IPOS-renal surveys, patient and staff versions, have good test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity in patients with advanced kidney disease and their nurses. We recommend their use in symptom assessment.

This study demonstrates that IL-18 is significantly increased during acute rejection and is principally produced by intra-graft macrophages. We hypothesize that IL-18 upregulation may be an important macrophage effector mechanism during the acute rejection process.

Overall, 50 (24%) patients, predominantly men (72%), were readmitted within 30 days of follow-up. MRCI was not significantly associated with 30-day readmission (odds ratio [OR] = 1.27; 95% CI = 0.94-1.73). The median (interquartile range) time to readmission within 12 months was 145 (31-365) days. On a multivariate analysis, a 10-unit increase in MRCI was associated with a shorter time to readmission within 12 months (subdistribution HR = 1.18; 95% CI = 1.01-1.36). Conclusion and Relevance: Medication regimen complexity was not significantly associated with 30-day readmission; however, it was associated with a significantly shorter time to 12-month readmission in older CKD patients. This finding highlights the importance of medication regimen complexity as a potential target for medical interventions to reduce readmission risks.

Only 2 AOBP readings taken over 6 minutes (excluding an initial reading immediately after sitting) may be needed to be comparable with daytime ABP.