Our Hard Truth About AP24534
Questions were designed, so that answers were provided as either multiple choices, numerical data entry or a five-point Likert's scale, as appropriate (see Supplementary Appendix S1). The survey was developed using a focus group of research and non-academic nephrologists and statisticians with experience in survey design and methodology. A draft questionnaire was subsequently piloted on four nephrologists, modifications made and then adapted to a web-based format. All responses were anonymous, with options of ��prefer not to answer�� available for potentially sensitive questions regarding physician demographics. Table 1. A summary of the questions in the web-based survey designed to address the uptake of the 2012 KDIGO GN guidelines into buy STI571 clinical practice. Comparison between self-reported and potential GN caseload was performed in the subgroup of respondents from British Columbia in which there is a central pathology registry that captures all biopsy-proven cases of GN in the province. All nephrologists in the province are registered with the provincial renal agency (total of 65 adult nephrologists at the time of the survey). The average potential caseload was calculated as the number of total biopsy-proven GN cases divided by the number nephrologists. This comparison was UNC2881 not possible in other provinces due to the absence of central pathology registries. Statistical analysis Continuous variables were summarized as median (interquartile range, IQR) due to their skewed distribution, and categorical variables as count (frequency). For ease of presentation, some of the categorical variables were grouped according to clinical significance of the answers, or as the top two versus bottom three answers on a five-point Likert's scale. However, the complete distribution of the responses for all questions is available in the Supplementary Appendix S1. Comparisons across subgroups for statistical significance were made using the Kruskal�CWallis test for continuous variables and Fischer's exact test using Monte Carlo estimation of AP24534 order exact P-values for categorical variables. All tests were two sided, with P
