IntroductionThe United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) implemented a new Kidney Allocation System (KAS) in December 2014 that is expected to substantially reduce racial disparities in kidney transplantation among waitlisted patients. However, not all dialysis facility clinical providers and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients are aware of how the policy change could improve access to transplantation.MethodsWe describe the ASCENT (Allocation System Changes for Equity in Kidney Transplantation) study, a randomized, controlled effectiveness-implementation study designed to test the effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention to improve access to the early steps of kidney transplantation among dialysis facilities across the United States. The multicomponent intervention consists of an educational webinar for dialysis medical directors, an educational video for patients and an educational video for dialysis staff, and a dialysis facility−specific transplantation performance feedback report. Materials will be developed by a multidisciplinary dissemination advisory board and will undergo formative testing in dialysis facilities across the United States.ResultsThis study is estimated to enroll ∼600 US dialysis facilities with low waitlisting in all 18 ESRD networks. The co-primary outcomes include change in waitlisting and waitlist disparity at 1 year; secondary outcomes include changes in facility medical director knowledge about KAS, staff training regarding KAS, patient education regarding transplantation, and the intent of the medical director to refer patients for transplantation evaluation.DiscussionThe results from the ASCENT study will demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention designed to increase access to the deceased donor kidney waitlist and to reduce racial disparities in waitlisting.

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States hemodialysis population. While this endeavor remains steadfast in assuring the continued dominance of this policy for AVF preference, it fails to take into account a subset of the dialysis population who will fail to see the benefits of an AVF. This subset of patients may include the elderly, those with poor vasculature anatomy, those with slowly progressive CKD that are more likely to die than progress to ESRD, and those with an overall poor long-term prognosis and shortened life expectancy. Thus, in an effort to avoid numerous unnecessary surgical and interventional procedures with minimal to no gains in clinical outcomes, an individualized patient approach must be adopted. The CMS instituted quality incentive program (QIP) is designed to reward high AVF prevalence while also penalizing high CVC prevalence. The current model is devoid of case-based adjustment, thus penalties are disbursed to dialysis providers in accordance with a "one-size-fits-all" fistula only approach. The most suitable access for a patient remains the one that takes into account the characteristics unique to the individual patient with a primary focus on patient comfort, satisfaction, quality of life and clinical outcomes.

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SummaryLupus nephritis (LN) remains a major cause of ESRD and is associated with a >4-fold increase in mortality and significant morbidity in patients with lupus. The treatment of LN has evolved significantly over the past decade due to data from well conducted randomized controlled trials. We are currently in an era in which effective regimens exist in the form of induction and maintenance agents. Histopathologic classification of LN remains one of the main factors guiding therapy.