“The transition from chronic kidney disease to kidney failure is a vulnerable time for patients. Our research aims to improve care during this time," -Dr. Ayub Akbari Nephrologist Dr. Ayub Akbari does his best to prepare patients with advanced chronic kidney disease for the day when their kidneys fail and they need dialysis. Unfortunately, for many patients there’s no way to know when that will happen. 

Kidney failure can be a life-threatening medical emergency that brings patients to the emergency department, where they start dialysis as a hospital inpatient. But if kidney specialists had a better sense of when their patient’s kidneys would fail, they could see them more regularly, help them prepare for dialysis or a kidney transplant, and perhaps start them on outpatient dialysis. 

Dr. Akbari’s research team is using artificial intelligence to see if they can predict when patients will need dialysis. Their recent study also found that patients without a high school diploma, or who were unemployed or single had worse transitions from advanced chronic kidney disease to kidney failure requiring dialysis.

“The transition from chronic kidney disease to kidney failure is a vulnerable time for patients. Our research aims to improve care during this time," he says.

Dr. Akbari was recently appointed as an associate scientist in the Clinical Epidemiology Program at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. He is a nephrologist and Medical Director, Multi-Care Kidney Clinic, Nephrology Pre-conception and Pregnancy Clinic, and Director of Data and Analytics for Division of Nephrology at The Ottawa Hospital and full professor at the University of Ottawa. He's also the “go-to” doctor in Ottawa for treating pregnant individuals with kidney disease.

The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa and supported by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.