Reanalysis of the physical and mental health summary scores of dialysis versus conservative care in older patients with advanced chronic kidney disease: a critical appraisal.

Patients on conservative care (n = 23) had lower physical and mental component summary scores compared to patients not yet started on dialysis (n = 39), but similar compared to patients on dialysis (n = 34). These findings were similar to our original findings and did not change the conclusions. Several scoring algorithms are used for the SF-36 summary scores. Researchers should be aware of this fact and should use the same scoring algorithm across similar studies in a specific field to increase comparability. Using the more widely used scoring algorithm, the recalculated SF-36 summary scores of our patient cohort can now be compared to other studies.