Patient-reported outcomes for cervical disease in end-stage renal disease patients: Propensity matching analysis using volunteer data.

As the number of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) has been increasing, the number of cervical spine surgeries for the patients with ESRD has also been increasing. The purpose is to identify the differences in cervical disease-specific patient-reported outcomes (PROs) between a healthy population and patients with ESRD, adjusting for subjects' age and physical activity.

METHODS: The ESRD group included patients with ESRD who were treated with hemodialysis in our outpatient clinic and healthy volunteers were individuals who attended public health lectures. Volunteers with a history of cervical disease were excluded. All participants answered the Japanese Orthopaedic Association Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation Questionnaire (JOACMEQ) and questionnaires that evaluate the disability in performing physical activities.

RESULTS: A total of 111 participants were enrolled and divided into the ESRD group (n = 40) and the control group (n = 71). After adjusting for age and sex using propensity score, cervical function (p = 0.008), lower-extremity function (p = 0.007), and QOL (p < 0.001) in patients in the adjusted ESRD group were significantly lower than those in the control group. In multivariate linear regression, the use of hemodialysis was a significant variable that was negatively related to lower-extremity function (p = 0.004) and QOL (p = 0.011) independent of age and disability in performing physical activity.

CONCLUSION: The ESRD was a significant negative factor of lower-extremity function and QOL, independent of age, sex, and disability in performing physical activity. These results can help understand the cervical status of patients with ESRD and adjust the goal for such patients after cervical surgery.