Frailty - why does it matter in kidney transplantation?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Frailty - why does it matter in kidney transplantation?
IRAS ID
315857
Contact name
Emma Cunningham
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Belfast Helath and Social Care Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Frailty is a syndrome that develops because of overall decline in physical and mental health. Frail people find it more difficult to cope with illness and are more likely to be admitted to hospital or die. Kidney transplantation (KT) is the best treatment for kidney failure. However, the physical stress of KT may harm people who are frail. Frailty has been associated with more complications and a higher risk of death after kidney transplantation in North-American populations. However some of the reasons that patients become frail in the first place, are related to their kidney failure. Some research in the US has shown that KT can improve frailty in patients with kidney failure. It is not clear which frail patients will benefit from kidney transplantation and which might be harmed. There are many ways to measure frailty. The most helpful frailty assessments for patients being listed for KT have not been established.
This research will study how frailty, at time of KT, affects outcomes after a kidney transplant. I want to discover if KT makes patients less frail. I also want to study other important outcomes for patients such as length of hospital stay, complication rates, transplant function and survival after transplant. The research will also examine which method of assessing frailty is most useful. To help answer these questions, I will ask patients with end-stage kidney failure who have been listed for a kidney transplant to be part of this study. I will ask them to complete a variety of frailty assessments. This will involve a combination of questions and physical assessments. I will also take some blood samples. I will undertake these assessments before they have their kidney transplant, and then repeat them 1-month, 3-months and 12-months post-operatively.REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/SC/0434
Date of REC Opinion
29 Nov 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion