(Press-News.org) Houston, TX (November 8, 2025) — The cost of emergency dialysis is estimated to be 8-times that of in-center dialysis. A new study reveals that a transitional dialysis program piloted in Travis County (Austin, TX) resulted in a significant decrease in emergency department visits and hospital admissions for emergency dialysis by providing a pathway for outpatient dialysis in uninsured patients. Thefindings will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2025 November 5– 9.
Central Health, a taxpayer-funded organization that provides health and wellnessservices for uninsured patients in Travis County, piloted the transitional dialysis program in November 2022. The goal was to provide in-center/outpatient dialysisfor Travis County residents who lacked insurance coverage.
When investigators reviewed data from November 2022 to December 2024 on the 101 patients who enrolled in the program, they observed that there was asignificant decline in the number of days patients utilized emergency dialysis in the hospital prior to finding an outpatient facility. Additionally, within 1 year of starting dialysis, most patients were able to obtain permanent dialysis access with either an arteriovenous fistula or a peritoneal dialysis catheter. Once accepted into the program, Central Health provided an insurance plan to cover outpatient dialysis and transplantation. To date, 18 patients have been listed for kidney transplantation, and 2 have received living donor transplants.
“The program has successfully facilitated dialysis access placement and transplant evaluation,” said corresponding author Michelle Lubetzky, MD, of The University of Texas, Austin. “Since Texas has no safety-net plan for patients who do not qualify for Medicare or Medicaid, the program has the potential to providea cost-effective solution and decrease in utilization of health care resources for those without medical coverage who develop kidney failure. It can be a model for other states and cities that alsolack safety net plans.”
Study: “Benefits of a Dedicated Dialysis Program for Uninsured Patients withESKD in Texas”
Join ASN and approximately 12,000 other kidney professionals from across the globe at Kidney Week 2025 in Houston, TX. The world's premier nephrology meeting, Kidney Week, provides participants with exciting and challenging opportunities to exchange knowledge, learn the latest scientific and medical advances, and listen to engaging andprovocative discussions with leading experts in the field. Early programs begin on November 5, followed by the Annual Meeting from November 6-9. Follow the conversation at #KidneyWk.
About the American Society of Nephrology (ASN)
Since 1966, ASN has been leading the fight to prevent, treat, and cure kidney diseasesthroughout the world by educating health professionals and scientists, advancing research and innovation, communicating new knowledge and advocating for the highest quality care for patients. ASN has nearly 22,000 members representing 141 countries. For more information, visit www.asn- online.org and follow us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
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Houston, TX (November 8, 2025) — Metformin-associated lactic acidosis(MALA) is a rare but serious adverse effect of the diabetes drug metformin in which the body accumulates too much lactic acid. Investigators developed and tested a protocol for diagnosis and treatment of MALA. Their work will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2025 November 5– 9.
The protocol, which included immediate initiation of dialysis using either intermittent hemodialysis, continuous kidney replacement therapy, or peritonealdialysis as treatment, ...
Houston, TX (November 8, 2025) — It can be challenging to identify which patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) will most benefit from conservative care rather than initiating dialysis. Researchers recently developed and validated a prediction model to estimate individualized survival probabilities with conservative non-dialytic management versus dialysis in patients with advanced CKD from the national Veterans Affairs and OptumLabs® DataWarehouse databases. The work will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2025 November 5–9.
Investigators found that among veterans with advanced CKD who received dialyticversus ...
In a new study of more than 40,000 patients, researchers at Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City have found that patients who have no evidence of calcium in their coronary arteries are not only significantly less likely to die from heart conditions – including heart attacks and heart failure– but also are at reduced risk of death from non-cardiac medical conditions.
Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is a strong predictor of how likely someone is to develop clinical coronary artery disease. It is an excellent measure of coronary plaque burden.
When cholesterol-laden plaque builds up in the coronary arteries, blood flow to heart muscle is limited, and plaque rupture with coronary ...
Coronary artery calcium (CAC) CT scans are becoming a more commonly used tool to effectively determine a patient’s future risk of heart disease and heart attack.
These minimally invasive scans measure how much calcium is already present in the arteries of the heart, so that clinicians can determine if a patient needs medical intervention or other preventative measures, including statin medications.
Now an important new study from heart researchers at Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City ...
Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors reduce albuminuria (excess albumin in the urine) and the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression, and certain mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists have similar effects in people with type 2 diabetes and CKD. Investigators recently assessed the albuminuria-lowering efficacy and safety of the novel mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist balcinrenone combined with the SGLT2 dapagliflozin. In the double-blind, active-controlled clinical trial, both doses of this novel balcinrenone/dapagliflozin combination outperformed dapagliflozin alone, cutting levels of ...
Researchers from Mass General Brigham have unveiled the results of a large clinical trial that found that adding the drug evolocumab to patients’ treatment significantly reduced the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in those who are at high risk. Results were presented today at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
“The results of this trial offer hope for preventing a first heart attack, stroke, or other ...
Researchers from Mass General Brigham have found that olezarsen—a drug designed to lower triglyceride levels—can also decrease the risk of acute pancreatitis, a potential complication in patients with severely elevated triglyceride levels. The results, from two randomized, placebo-controlled trials (CORE-TIMI 72a and CORE2-TIMI 72b), were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Severe hypertriglyceridemia is a condition in which the level of triglycerides (a type of fat that circulates in the blood) is very high. Approximately 1 in 100 people in the U.S. have severe hypertriglyceridemia. ...
Steatotic liver disease (SLD), mainly encompassing metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), alcohol-related liver disease (ALD), and metabolic dysfunction and ALD (MetALD), has emerged as the dominant cause of chronic liver disease worldwide, displacing viral hepatitis as the primary aetiology. Globally, the prevalence of MASLD is estimated even over 30%, affecting over one-third of adults. Parallelly, alcohol remains a major risk factor, with heavy drinking contributing to 90–95% of SLD cases and up to 10% advancing to cancer.
Genetic ...
About The Study: The findings of this study support the routine use of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors to improve kidney outcomes across the full spectrum of kidney function and albuminuria among patients with type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or heart failure.
Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Brendon L. Neuen, PhD (bneuen@georgeinstitute.org.au) and Hiddo J. L. Heerspink, PhD (h.j.lambers.heerspink@umcg.nl).
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The ...
In late-breaking presentations at the American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week meeting and simultaneously published in two companion papers in JAMA, the findings are based on data from over 70,000 participants across 10 major randomised controlled trials. The meta-analyses were conducted by the SGLT2 Inhibitor Meta-analysis Cardio-Renal Trialists’ Consortium (SMART-C), led by The George Institute for Global Health.
SGLT2 inhibitors, originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes, have since demonstrated substantial protection against heart failure and chronic ...
