PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- DaVita Clinical Research(®) (DCR(®)), a specialty contract research organization with services spanning the full spectrum of drug and device development, today announced that company representatives and collaborators will present 13 abstracts at American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week in Philadelphia, Nov. 11-16. Attendees can meet representatives of DCR and DaVita Kidney Care, the kidney care division of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. (NYSE: DVA), in booth #601.

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ASN's annual Kidney Week is the world's premier nephrology meeting, bringing together more than 13,000 kidney care professionals from around the world to share and discuss new developments related to all aspects of nephrology. This year's meeting theme is "Building New Paths to Kidney Health."

"DaVita Clinical Research and DaVita Kidney Care are committed to improving kidney care for current and future patients, and so we pursue clinical research that we believe will directly impact kidney care, contributing to new medicines, devices and procedures in both the treatment and prevention of kidney failure," said Steven Brunelli, M.D., MSCE, vice president of DCR.

Researchers from DCR and DaVita Kidney Care will present results from a number of large retrospective studies. The group also will present data from innovative clinical improvement programs originating from DCR and its independent research partners in the academic, pharmaceutical and biotech research communities.

DCR and DaVita Kidney Care representatives will share the results from the following clinical quality initiatives during the conference's poster sessions.

    --  "StepAhead Program Reduces Lower Limb Amputation Rates Among Diabetic
        End-Stage Renal Disease Patients." Poster presentation by Stephen
        McMurray, M.D., FACP, on Thursday, Nov. 13, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.,
        poster TH-PO779.
    --  "Conversion of Facility Standard Dialysate Sodium to <= 138 mEq/L Is
        Associated with Reduction in Excessive Interdialytic Fluid Gains without
        Evidence of Adverse Effect." Poster presentation by David B. Van Wyck,
        M.D., on Friday, Nov. 14, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., poster FR-PO1011.
    --  "Determining Blood Pressure Threshold for Intervention in Hemodialysis
        Patients: A Stratified Treatment Intention Analysis." Poster
        presentation by Steven M. Brunelli, M.D., MSCE, on Friday, Nov. 14,
        between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., poster FR-PO1012.
    --  "The Impact of Socioeconomic Status as an Unmeasured Confounder for
        Claims-Based, Comparative Analysis of Dialysis Provider Type and Its
        Effect on Dialysis Unit Economics." Poster presentation by Mahesh
        Krishnan, M.D., MPH, MBA, FASN, on Saturday, Nov. 15, between 10 a.m.
        and 12 p.m., poster SA-PO863.
    --  "Urgent-Start Peritoneal Dialysis Versus Urgent-Start Hemodialysis: A
        Multicenter Clinical Trial." Poster presentation by Arshia Ghaffari,
        D.O., on Saturday, Nov. 15, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., poster
        SA-PO1094.
    --  "Changes in Practices and Opinions on In-Center Food Consumption in a
        Large Dialysis Organization in the United States." Poster presentation
        by Mary Burgess, MS, RD, on Saturday, Nov. 15, between 10 a.m. and 12
        p.m., poster SA-PO217.

In addition, the findings from the following research studies will be presented.

    --  "Consequences of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome Among Dialysis Patients."
        Poster presentation by Sunil Mehta, Pharm.D., on Thursday, Nov. 13,
        between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., poster TH-PO671.
    --  "The Association Between Serum Potassium and Hospitalization in Patients
        With Chronic Kidney Disease." Poster presentation by Jiacong Luo, M.D.,
        MS, MPH, on Thursday, Nov. 13, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., poster
        TH-PO706.
    --  "Enrollment of Hemodialysis Patients in an Integrated Pharmacy
        Management Program Is Associated with Reduced Mortality." Poster
        presentation by Steven M. Brunelli, M.D., MSCE, on Thursday, Nov. 13,
        between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., poster TH-PO882.
    --  "Impact of Weight Evolution on Mortality and Nutritional State in
        Hemodialysis Patients." Poster presentation by Ana Rita Martins, M.D.,
        Ph.D., on Thursday, Nov. 13, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., poster
        TH-PO912.
    --  "Secondary Hyperparathyroidism Among Incident Peritoneal Dialysis
        Patients." Poster presentation by Scott P. Sibbel, Ph.D., MPH, on
        Thursday, Nov. 13, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., poster TH-PO895.
    --  "Association Between Serum Potassium and Discontinuation of
        Renin-Angiotensin Aldosterone System Blocker Medication in Patients With
        Chronic Kidney Disease." Poster presentation by Jiacong Luo, M.D., MPH,
        on Friday, Nov. 14, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., poster FR-PO895.
    --  "Serum Calcium Reductions Among Patients on Hemodialysis Initiating
        Cinacalcet." Poster presentation by Steven M. Brunelli, M.D., MSCE, on
        Saturday, Nov. 15, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., poster SA-PO054.

Attendees who visit DaVita Kidney Care's booth at ASN will hear from clinical leaders in nephrology, including DaVita Kidney Care Chief Medical Officer Allen Nissenson, M.D., FACP, FASN; Chief Medical Officer for DaVita Kidney Care in Saudi Arabia Abdulkareem Alsuwaida, M.D., FRCPC, MSc; Vice President of Clinical Affairs for Home Dialysis Martin Schreiber, M.D.; Vice President of Medical Affairs Robert Provenzano, M.D., FACP, FASN; Vice President of Clinical Integrated Care Management Services Stephen McMurray, M.D., FASN; and Chief Medical Director for DaVita Kidney Care in EMEA Maciej Drozdz, M.D., Ph.D.

DaVita Kidney Care's ASN booth schedule can be found online at DaVita.com/Physicians/ASN. Attendees are encouraged to follow along with the conversation on Twitter via hashtag #KidneyWk14.

About DaVita HealthCare Partners
DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., a Fortune 500® company, is the parent company of DaVita Kidney Care and HealthCare Partners. DaVita Kidney Care is a leading provider of kidney care in the United States, delivering dialysis services to patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. As of September 30, 2014, DaVita Kidney Care operated or provided administrative services at 2,152 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately 170,000 patients. The company also operated 87 outpatient dialysis centers located in 10 countries outside the United States. HealthCare Partners manages and operates medical groups and affiliated physician networks in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Florida in its pursuit to deliver excellent-quality health care in a dignified and compassionate manner. As of September 30, 2014, HealthCare Partners provided integrated care management for approximately 836,000 managed care patients. For more information, please visit DaVitaHealthCarePartners.com.

About DaVita Clinical Research
DaVita Clinical Research (DCR), a wholly owned subsidiary of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., uses its extensive, applied database and real-world healthcare experience to assist pharmaceutical and medical device companies in the design, recruitment, and completion of clinical trials including retrospective and prospective pragmatic trials. DCR's scientific and clinical expertise spans the lifecycle of product development with more than 175 client companies. DCR's Biorepository, Early Clinical Research unit (Phase I-IIa) and Late Phase Clinical Research (Phase IIb through post-marketing) network of physicians and investigative sites, data research, Health Economics & Outcomes Research,and Medical Communications are focused on providing world-class research in both healthy and chronic disease populations and therapeutic areas, and especially in CKD and ESRD populations. To learn more about DCR, visit www.davitaclinicalresearch.com.

DaVita, DaVita Clinical Research, DCR and DaVita HealthCare Partners are trademarks or registered trademarks of DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact Information

Media:
Bianca Violante
Office: (303) 876-6614
Mobile: (443) 417-6044
Bianca.Violante@DaVita.com

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SOURCE DaVita Clinical Research

SOURCE: DaVita Clinical Research