Natriuretic peptide testing strategies in heart failure: A 2023 update.

Natriuretic peptides (NPs), including B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal pro-BNP (NT-proBNP), have been recommended as standard biomarkers for diagnosing heart failure (HF), and one of the strongest risk predictors for mortality and HF hospitalization regardless of ejection fraction (EF) and etiology of HF. BNP is an active neurohormone opposing renin-angiotensin-aldosterone and sympathetic nervous system overactivated in HF, whereas NT-proBNP is an inactive prohormone released from cardiomyocytes in response to wall stress. Despite substantial advances in the development of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) for HF with reduced EF, studies demonstrating direct benefits of NP-guided chronic HF therapy on mortality, HF hospitalization, and GDMT optimization have yielded conflicting results. However, accumulating evidence shows that achieving prespecified BNP or NT-proBNP target over time is significantly associated with favorable outcomes, suggesting that benefits of serially measured NPs may be limited to particular groups of HF patients, such as those with extreme levels of baseline BNP or NT-proBNP, which could represent severe phenotypes of HF associated with natriuretic peptide resistance or cardiorenal syndrome. Over the past decade, clinical utilization of BNP and NT-proBNP has been expanded, especially using serial NP measurements for guiding HF therapy, optimizing GDMT and identifying at-risk patients with HF phenotypes who may be minimally symptomatic or asymptomatic.

Metabolites Associated With Uremic Symptoms in Patients With CKD: Findings From the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study.

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE: The toxins that contribute to uremic symptoms in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are unknown. We sought to apply complementary statistical modeling approaches to data from untargeted plasma metabolomic profiling to identify solutes associated with uremic symptoms in patients with CKD. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: 1,761 Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) participants with CKD not treated with dialysis. PREDICTORS: Measurement of 448 known plasma metabolites. OUTCOMES: The uremic symptoms of fatigue, anorexia, pruritus, nausea, paresthesia, and pain were assessed by single items on the Kidney Disease Quality of Life-36 instrument. ANALYTICAL APPROACH: Multivariable adjusted linear regression, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator linear regression, and random forest models were used to identify metabolites associated with symptom severity. After adjustment for multiple comparisons, metabolites selected in at least 2 of the 3 modeling approaches were deemed "overall significant." RESULTS: Participant mean estimated glomerular filtration rate was 43mL/min/1.73m2, with 44% self-identifying as female and 41% as non-Hispanic Black. The prevalence of uremic symptoms ranged from 22% to 55%. We identified 17 metabolites for which a higher level was associated with greater severity of at least one uremic symptom and 9 metabolites inversely associated with uremic symptom severity. Many of these metabolites exhibited at least a moderate correlation with estimated glomerular filtration rate (Pearson's r≥0.5), and some were also associated with the risk of developing kidney failure or death in multivariable adjusted Cox regression models. LIMITATIONS: Lack of a second independent cohort for external validation of our findings. CONCLUSIONS: Metabolomic profiling was used to identify multiple solutes associated with uremic symptoms in adults with CKD, but future validation and mechanistic studies are needed. PLAIN-LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Individuals living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) often experience symptoms related to CKD, traditionally called uremic symptoms. It is likely that CKD results in alterations in the levels of numerous circulating substances that, in turn, cause uremic symptoms; however, the identity of these solutes is not known. In this study, we used metabolomic profiling in patients with CKD to gain insights into the pathophysiology of uremic symptoms. We identified 26 metabolites whose levels were significantly associated with at least one of the symptoms of fatigue, anorexia, itchiness, nausea, paresthesia, and pain. The results of this study lay the groundwork for future research into the biological causes of symptoms in patients with CKD.

Orthostatic hypotension, orthostatic hypertension, and ambulatory blood pressure in patients with chronic kidney disease in CRIC.

BACKGROUND: Orthostatic changes in blood pressure (BP), either orthostatic hypotension or orthostatic hypertension (OHTN), are common among patients with chronic kidney disease. Whether they are associated with unique out-of-office BP phenotypes is unknown. METHODS: CRIC is a prospective, multicenter, observational cohort study of participants with CKD. BP measured at 2 min after standing and ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) were obtained on 1386 participants. Orthostatic hypotension was defined as a 20 mmHg drop in SBP or 10 mmHg drop in DBP when changing from seated to standing positions. Systolic and diastolic night-to-day ratio was also calculated. OHTN was defined as a 20 or 10 mmHg rise in SBP or DBP when changing from a seated to a standing position. White-coat effect (WCE) was defined as seated minus daytime ambulatory BP. RESULTS: Of the 1386 participants (age: 58 ±â€Š10 years, 44% female, 39% black), 68 had orthostatic hypotension and 153 had OHTN. Postural reduction in SBP or DBP was positively associated with greater systolic and diastolic WCE and systolic and diastolic night-to-day ratio. Orthostatic hypotension was positively associated with diastolic WCE (ß = 3 [0.2, 5.9]). Diastolic OHTN was negatively associated with systolic WCE (ß = -4 [-7.2, -0.5]) and diastolic WCE (ß = -6 [-8.1, -4.2]). CONCLUSION: Postural change in BP was associated with WCE and night-to-day-ratio. Orthostatic hypotension was positively associated with WCE and OHTN was negatively associated with WCE. These findings strengthen observations that postural changes in BP may associate with distinct BP patterns throughout the day. These observations are informative for subsequent research tailoring orthostatic hypotension and OHTN treatment to specific BP phenotypes.

Risk for Chronic Kidney Disease Progression After Acute Kidney Injury: Findings From the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Prior studies associating acute kidney injury (AKI) with more rapid subsequent loss of kidney function had methodological limitations, including inadequate control for differences between patients who had AKI and those who did not. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether AKI is independently associated with subsequent kidney function trajectory among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). DESIGN: Multicenter prospective cohort study. SETTING: United States. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with CKD (n = 3150). MEASUREMENTS: Hospitalized AKI was defined by a 50% or greater increase in inpatient serum creatinine (SCr) level from nadir to peak. Kidney function trajectory was assessed using estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) based on SCr level (eGFRcr) or cystatin C level (eGFRcys) measured at annual study visits. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 3.9 years, 433 participants had at least 1 AKI episode. Most episodes (92%) had stage 1 or 2 severity. There were decreases in eGFRcr (-2.30 [95% CI, -3.70 to -0.86] mL/min/1.73 m2) and eGFRcys (-3.61 [CI, -6.39 to -0.82] mL/min/1.73 m2) after AKI. However, in fully adjusted models, the decreases were attenuated to -0.38 (CI, -1.35 to 0.59) mL/min/1.73 m2 for eGFRcr and -0.15 (CI, -2.16 to 1.86) mL/min/1.73 m2 for eGFRcys, and the CI bounds included the possibility of no effect. Estimates of changes in eGFR slope after AKI determined by either SCr level (0.04 [CI, -0.30 to 0.38] mL/min/1.73 m2 per year) or cystatin C level (-0.56 [CI, -1.28 to 0.17] mL/min/1.73 m2 per year) also had CI bounds that included the possibility of no effect. LIMITATIONS: Few cases of severe AKI, no adjudication of AKI cause, and lack of information about nephrotoxic exposures after hospital discharge. CONCLUSION: After pre-AKI eGFR, proteinuria, and other covariables were accounted for, the association between mild to moderate AKI and worsening subsequent kidney function in patients with CKD was small. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health.

A generalized covariate-adjusted top-scoring pair algorithm with applications to diabetic kidney disease stage classification in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study.

BACKGROUND: The growing amount of high dimensional biomolecular data has spawned new statistical and computational models for risk prediction and disease classification. Yet, many of these methods do not yield biologically interpretable models, despite offering high classification accuracy. An exception, the top-scoring pair (TSP) algorithm derives parameter-free, biologically interpretable single pair decision rules that are accurate and robust in disease classification. However, standard TSP methods do not accommodate covariates that could heavily influence feature selection for the top-scoring pair. Herein, we propose a covariate-adjusted TSP method, which uses residuals from a regression of features on the covariates for identifying top scoring pairs. We conduct simulations and a data application to investigate our method, and compare it to existing classifiers, LASSO and random forests. RESULTS: Our simulations found that features that were highly correlated with clinical variables had high likelihood of being selected as top scoring pairs in the standard TSP setting. However, through residualization, our covariate-adjusted TSP was able to identify new top scoring pairs, that were largely uncorrelated with clinical variables. In the data application, using patients with diabetes (n = 977) selected for metabolomic profiling in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) study, the standard TSP algorithm identified (valine-betaine, dimethyl-arg) as the top-scoring metabolite pair for classifying diabetic kidney disease (DKD) severity, whereas the covariate-adjusted TSP method identified the pair (pipazethate, octaethylene glycol) as top-scoring. Valine-betaine and dimethyl-arg had, respectively, ≥ 0.4 absolute correlation with urine albumin and serum creatinine, known prognosticators of DKD. Thus without covariate-adjustment the top-scoring pair largely reflected known markers of disease severity, whereas covariate-adjusted TSP uncovered features liberated from confounding, and identified independent prognostic markers of DKD severity. Furthermore, TSP-based methods achieved competitive classification accuracy in DKD to LASSO and random forests, while providing more parsimonious models. CONCLUSIONS: We extended TSP-based methods to account for covariates, via a simple, easy to implement residualizing process. Our covariate-adjusted TSP method identified metabolite features, uncorrelated from clinical covariates, that discriminate DKD severity stage based on the relative ordering between two features, and thus provide insights into future studies on the order reversals in early vs advanced disease states.

Renal Genetics Clinic: 3-Year Experience in the Cleveland Clinic.

Rationale & Objective: There has been an increasing demand for the expertise provided by a renal genetics clinic. Such programs are limited in the United States and typically operate in a genomics research setting. Here we report a 3-year, real-world, single-center renal genetics clinic experience. Study Design: Retrospective cohort. Setting & Participants: Outpatient cases referred to the renal genetics clinic of the Cleveland Clinic between January 2019 and March 2022 were reviewed. Analytical Approach: Clinical and laboratory characteristics were analyzed. All genetic testing was performed in clinical labs. Results: 309 new patients referred from 15 specialties were evaluated, including 118 males and 191 females aged 35.1 ± 20.3 years. Glomerular diseases were the leading presentation followed by cystic kidney diseases, electrolyte disorders, congenital anomalies of kidneys and urinary tract, nephrolithiasis, and tubulointerstitial kidney diseases. Dysmorphic features were noted in 27 (8.7%) patients. Genetic testing was recommended in 292 (94.5%) patients including chromosomal microarray (8.9%), single-gene tests (19.5%), multigene panels (77.3%), and exome sequencing (17.5%). 80.5% of patients received insurance coverage for genetic testing. 45% (115/256) of patients had positive results, 25% (64/256) had variants of unknown significance, and 22.3% (57/256) had negative results. 43 distinct monogenic disorders were diagnosed. Family history of kidney disease was present in 52.8% of patients and associated with positive genetic findings (OR, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.40-3.74). 69% of patients with positive results received a new diagnosis and/or a change in the diagnosis. Among these, 39.7% (31/78) of patients received a significant change in disease management. Limitations: Retrospective and single-center study. Conclusions: The renal genetics clinic plays important roles in the diagnosis and management of patients with genetic kidney diseases. Multigene panels are the most frequently used testing modality with a high diagnostic yield. Family history of kidney disease is a strong indication for renal genetics clinic referral.

Treatment Adherence in CKD and Support From Health care Providers: A Qualitative Study.

Rationale & Objective: Adherence to recommended medical treatment is critical in chronic kidney disease (CKD) to prevent complications and progression to kidney failure. Overall adherence to treatment is low in CKD, and as few as 40% of patients with kidney failure receive any documented CKD-related care. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of patients with CKD and their adherence to CKD treatment plans, and the role their health care providers played in supporting their adherence. Study Design: One-on-one interviews were conducted in 2019-2020 using a semi-structured interview guide. Participants described experiences with adherence to treatment plans and what they did when experiencing difficulty. Setting & Participants: Participants were recruited from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) study. All CRIC participants were older than 21 years with CKD stages 2-4; this sample consisted of participants from the University of Pennsylvania CRIC site. Analytical Approach: Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded using conventional content analysis. Data were organized into themes using NVivo 12. Results: The sample (n = 32) had a mean age of 67 years, 53% were women, 59% were non-White, with a mean estimated glomerular filtration rate of 56.6 mL/min/1.73 m2. From analysis of factors relevant to treatment planning and adherence, following 4 major themes emerged: patient factors (multiple chronic conditions, motivation, outlook), provider factors (attentiveness, availability/accessibility, communication), treatment planning factors (lack of plan, proactive research, provider-focused treatment goals, and shared decision making), and treatment plan responses (disagreeing with treatment, perceived capability deficit, lack of information, and positive feedback). Limitations: The sample was drawn from the CRIC study, which may not be representative of the general population with CKD. Conclusions: These themes align with Behavioral Learning Theory, which includes concepts of internal antecedents (patient factors), external antecedents (provider factors), behavior (treatment planning factors), and consequences (treatment plan responses). In particular, the treatment plan responses point to innovative potential intervention approaches to support treatment adherence in CKD.

Content Validity Assessment of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire in CKD Using Qualitative Methods.

BACKGROUND: The Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) measures individuals' unique perceptions of their illness. While psychometric properties of the IPQ-R have been demonstrated in many disease populations, its content validity has not been extensively studied in non-dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD). Unique features of CKD (e.g., few symptoms in early stages) may impact the measurement of illness perceptions. The purpose of this study was to explore the IPQ-R content validity in a sample of CKD patients. METHODS: Thirty-one participants completed the IPQ-R and were interviewed regarding their subscale scores (timeline, consequences, personal control, treatment control, coherence, cyclical, and emotions). Participants' agreement with their scores was tallied and assessed qualitatively for themes related to the content validity of the measure. RESULTS: Individual participant agreement with their subscale scores averaged 79% (range: 29-100%). Subscale agreement varied: timeline (100%), consequences, coherence, and emotion (83% each), cyclical (75%), personal control (65%), and treatment control (64%). A qualitative exploration of disagreement responses revealed concerns with the relevance and comprehensibility of personal control and treatment control. CONCLUSIONS: Some IPQ-R subscales may pose content validity concerns in the non-dialysis CKD population. Item modification for comprehensibility (personal control) and relevance (treatment control) should be considered. Future studies should explore the impact of a patient's symptom experience on IPQ-R validity, especially in populations like CKD with a higher proportion of asymptomatic patients.

High-Throughput Metabolomics and Diabetic Kidney Disease Progression: Evidence from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency (CRIC) Study.

INTRODUCTION: Metabolomics could offer novel prognostic biomarkers and elucidate mechanisms of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) progression. Via metabolomic analysis of urine samples from 995 CRIC participants with diabetes and state-of-the-art statistical modeling, we aimed to identify metabolites prognostic to DKD progression. METHODS: Urine samples (N = 995) were assayed for relative metabolite abundance by untargeted flow-injection mass spectrometry, and stringent statistical criteria were used to eliminate noisy compounds, resulting in 698 annotated metabolite ions. Utilizing the 698 metabolites' ion abundance along with clinical data (demographics, blood pressure, HbA1c, eGFR, and albuminuria), we developed univariate and multivariate models for the eGFR slope using penalized (lasso) and random forest models. Final models were tested on time-to-ESKD (end-stage kidney disease) via cross-validated C-statistics. We also conducted pathway enrichment analysis and a targeted analysis of a subset of metabolites. RESULTS: Six eGFR slope models selected 9-30 variables. In the adjusted ESKD model with highest C-statistic, valine (or betaine) and 3-(4-methyl-3-pentenyl)thiophene were associated (p < 0.05) with 44% and 65% higher hazard of ESKD per doubling of metabolite abundance, respectively. Also, 13 (of 15) prognostic amino acids, including valine and betaine, were confirmed in the targeted analysis. Enrichment analysis revealed pathways implicated in kidney and cardiometabolic disease. CONCLUSIONS: Using the diverse CRIC sample, a high-throughput untargeted assay, followed by targeted analysis, and rigorous statistical analysis to reduce false discovery, we identified several novel metabolites implicated in DKD progression. If replicated in independent cohorts, our findings could inform risk stratification and treatment strategies for patients with DKD.

Social Support in Older Adults With CKD: A Report From the CRIC (Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort) Study.

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE: Social support in older adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a potentially modifiable factor that may affect important clinical outcomes such as health-related quality of life, cognitive function, and frailty. However, limited data about the effects of social support in older patients with non-dialysis-dependent CKD exist. Our objective was to evaluate the association of social support with health-related quality of life, cognitive function, and frailty in older adults with CKD. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of a prospective cohort study. SETTING & POPULATION: 1,851 participants older than 65 years with CKD enrolled in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study. EXPOSURE: Social support (Lubben Social Network Scale [LSNS]). OUTCOMESS: Health-related quality of life (Kidney Disease Quality of Life-36), cognitive function (Modified Mini-Mental State Examination, Trail Making Test A & B, and Buschke Selective Reminder Tests), and frailty (modified Fried frailty criteria). ANALYTIC APPROACH: Multivariable, linear, and logistic regression to determine the association between social support and health-related quality of life, cognitive function, and frailty. RESULTS: Low social support, defined as LSNS score < 12, was present in 22% of participants. On multivariable analysis, higher social support was associated with higher health-related quality of life (ß coefficient per 1-SD increase in LSNS score; burden subscale, 2.57 (95% CI, 1.57-3.56); effects subscale, 2.21 (95% CI, 1.52-2.9); symptoms subscale, 1.64 (95% CI, 0.88-2.41); mental health composite subscale, 1.91 (95% CI, 1.40-2.43); and physical health composite score, 0.64 (95% CI, 0.03-1.24)). Higher social support was associated with better cognitive function (ß coefficient per 1-SD increase in LSNS score; Modified Mini-Mental State Examination, 0.81 (95% CI, 0.44 to 1.19); Trail Making Test A & B, -2.53 (95% CI, -4.29 to -0.76) and -6.53 (95% CI, -10.07 to -2.99), respectively; Buschke Selective Reminder Test 1, 2, and 3, 0.19 (95% CI, 0.07 to 0.30); 1.59 (95% CI, 0.96 to 2.22); and 0.40 (95% CI, 0.23 to 0.56), respectively. Higher social support was associated with higher likelihood of being nonfrail (OR, 1.77; 95% CI per 1-SD higher LSNS score, 1.24-2.53). LIMITATIONS: Conclusions about causality cannot be drawn from an observational cross-sectional study. CONCLUSIONS: In older patients with CKD, higher social support was associated with higher health-related quality of life and cognitive function and less frailty.

Ifosfamide-induced nephrogenic diabetes insipidus responsive to supraphysiologic doses of intravenous desmopressin.

Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (DI) refers to the reduction in the ability of the kidney to concentrate urine, which can be caused by partial or complete resistance at the site of action of anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) in the collecting tubules. Ifosfamide-induced nephrogenic DI typically occurs concomitantly in patients who have other signs of tubular toxicity consistent with Fanconi syndrome including glucosuria, aminoaciduria, and hypophosphatemia. We present a case of a 36-year-old female with recurrent synovial cell sarcoma of the pleural membranes, treated with ifosfamide-based chemotherapy, who was admitted to the hospital for the management of polyuria, hypotension, as well as electrolyte derangements including hypokalemia, hypophosphatemia and non-anion gap metabolic acidosis, 1 week after receiving a cumulative ifosfamide dose of 7.5 g/m2. Nephrogenic DI was indicated by polyuria as well as a urine osmolality to plasma osmolality ratio of less than 1.5 following a trial of intravenous desmopressin, but the patient's acute kidney injury on presentation precluded the early employment of thiazides and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Instead, the patient's polyuria and urine osmolality improved only after the administration of repetitive supraphysiologic doses of intravenous desmopressin. Our case reiterates that patients with non-hereditary nephrogenic DI may have partial rather than complete resistance to ADH and highlights that desmopressin may be considered in patients with ifosfamide-induced nephrogenic DI to prevent severe volume depletion, especially in patients who have persistent symptomatic polyuria despite maintaining a careful fluid balance and pharmacological therapy with NSAIDs and diuretics, or if the patient's clinical condition precludes the use of these strategies.

Subtyping CKD Patients by Consensus Clustering: The Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study.

BACKGROUND: CKD is a heterogeneous condition with multiple underlying causes, risk factors, and outcomes. Subtyping CKD with multidimensional patient data holds the key to precision medicine. Consensus clustering may reveal CKD subgroups with different risk profiles of adverse outcomes. METHODS: We used unsupervised consensus clustering on 72 baseline characteristics among 2696 participants in the prospective Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) study to identify novel CKD subgroups that best represent the data pattern. Calculation of the standardized difference of each parameter used the cutoff of ±0.3 to show subgroup features. CKD subgroup associations were examined with the clinical end points of kidney failure, the composite outcome of cardiovascular diseases, and death. RESULTS: The algorithm revealed three unique CKD subgroups that best represented patients' baseline characteristics. Patients with relatively favorable levels of bone density and cardiac and kidney function markers, with lower prevalence of diabetes and obesity, and who used fewer medications formed cluster 1 (n=1203). Patients with higher prevalence of diabetes and obesity and who used more medications formed cluster 2 (n=1098). Patients with less favorable levels of bone mineral density, poor cardiac and kidney function markers, and inflammation delineated cluster 3 (n=395). These three subgroups, when linked with future clinical end points, were associated with different risks of CKD progression, cardiovascular disease, and death. Furthermore, patient heterogeneity among predefined subgroups with similar baseline kidney function emerged. CONCLUSIONS: Consensus clustering synthesized the patterns of baseline clinical and laboratory measures and revealed distinct CKD subgroups, which were associated with markedly different risks of important clinical outcomes. Further examination of patient subgroups and associated biomarkers may provide next steps toward precision medicine.

Systematic integrated analysis of genetic and epigenetic variation in diabetic kidney disease.

Poor metabolic control and host genetic predisposition are critical for diabetic kidney disease (DKD) development. The epigenome integrates information from sequence variations and metabolic alterations. Here, we performed a genome-wide methylome association analysis in 500 subjects with DKD from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort for DKD phenotypes, including glycemic control, albuminuria, kidney function, and kidney function decline. We show distinct methylation patterns associated with each phenotype. We define methylation variations that are associated with underlying nucleotide variations (methylation quantitative trait loci) and show that underlying genetic variations are important drivers of methylation changes. We implemented Bayesian multitrait colocalization analysis (moloc) and summary data-based Mendelian randomization to systematically annotate genomic regions that show association with kidney function, methylation, and gene expression. We prioritized 40 loci, where methylation and gene-expression changes likely mediate the genotype effect on kidney disease development. Functional annotation suggested the role of inflammation, specifically, apoptotic cell clearance and complement activation in kidney disease development. Our study defines methylation changes associated with DKD phenotypes, the key role of underlying genetic variations driving methylation variations, and prioritizes methylome and gene-expression changes that likely mediate the genotype effect on kidney disease pathogenesis.

Burden and Outcomes of Heart Failure Hospitalizations in Adults With Chronic Kidney Disease.

BACKGROUND: Data on rates of heart failure (HF) hospitalizations, recurrent hospitalizations, and outcomes related to HF hospitalizations in chronic kidney disease (CKD) are limited. OBJECTIVES: This study examined rates of HF hospitalizations and re-hospitalizations within a large CKD population and evaluated the burden of HF hospitalizations with the risk of subsequent CKD progression and death. METHODS: The prospective CRIC (Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort) study measured the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) at baseline. The crude rates and rate ratios of HF hospitalizations and 30-day HF re-hospitalizations were calculated using Poisson regression models. Cox regression was used to assess the association of the frequency of HF hospitalizations within the first 2 years of follow-up with risk of subsequent CKD progression and death. RESULTS: Among 3,791 participants, the crude rate of HF admissions was 5.8 per 100 person-years (with higher rates of HF with preserved ejection fraction vs. HF with reduced ejection fraction). The adjusted rate of HF was higher with a lower eGFR (vs. eGFR >45 ml/min/1.73 m2); the rate ratios were 1.7 and 2.2 for eGFR 30 to 44 and <30 ml/min/1.73 m2 (vs. >45 ml/min/1.73 m2), respectively. Similarly, the adjusted rates of HF hospitalization were significantly higher in those with higher urine ACR (vs. urine ACR <30 mg/g); the rate ratios were 1.9 and 2.6 for urine ACR 30 to 299 and ≥300 mg/g, respectively. Overall, 20.6% of participants had a subsequent HF re-admission within 30 days. HF hospitalization within 2 years of study entry was associated with greater adjusted risks for CKD progression (1 hospitalization: hazard ratio [HR]: 1.93; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.40 to 2.67; 2+ hospitalizations: HR: 2.14; 95% CI: 1.30 to 3.54) and all-cause death (1 hospitalization: HR: 2.20; 95% CI: 1.71 to 2.84; 2+ hospitalizations: HR: 3.06; 95% CI: 2.23 to 4.18). CONCLUSIONS: Within a large U.S. CKD population, the rates of HF hospitalizations and re-hospitalization were high, with even higher rates across categories of lower eGFR and higher urine ACR. Patients with CKD hospitalized with HF had greater risks of CKD progression and death. HF prevention and treatment should be a public health priority to improve CKD outcomes.

Phosphorus binders: The new and the old, and how to choose.

In caring for patients with chronic kidney disease, it is important to prevent and treat hyperphosphatemia with a combination of dietary restrictions and phosphorus binders. This review describes the pathophysiology and control of hyperphosphatemia and the different classes of phosphorus binders with respect to their availability, cost, side effects, and scenarios in which one class of binder may be more beneficial than another.

Hematuria as a risk factor for progression of chronic kidney disease and death: findings from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study.

BACKGROUND: Hematuria is associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but has rarely been examined as a risk factor for CKD progression. We explored whether individuals with hematuria had worse outcomes compared to those without hematuria in the CRIC Study. METHODS: Participants were a racially and ethnically diverse group of adults (21 to 74 years), with moderate CKD. Presence of hematuria (positive dipstick) from a single urine sample was the primary predictor. Outcomes included a 50% or greater reduction in eGFR from baseline, ESRD, and death, over a median follow-up of 7.3 years, analyzed using Cox Proportional Hazards models. Net reclassification indices (NRI) and C statistics were calculated to evaluate their predictive performance. RESULTS: Hematuria was observed in 1145 (29%) of a total of 3272 participants at baseline. Individuals with hematuria were more likely to be Hispanic (22% vs. 9.5%, respectively), have diabetes (56% vs. 48%), lower mean eGFR (40.2 vs. 45.3 ml/min/1.73 m2), and higher levels of urinary albumin > 1.0 g/day (36% vs. 10%). In multivariable-adjusted analysis, individuals with hematuria had a greater risk for all outcomes during the first 2 years of follow-up: Halving of eGFR or ESRD (HR Year 1: 1.68, Year 2: 1.36), ESRD (Year 1: 1.71, Year 2: 1.39) and death (Year 1:1.92, Year 2: 1.77), and these associations were attenuated, thereafter. Based on NRIs and C-statistics, no clear improvement in the ability to improve prediction of study outcomes was observed when hematuria was included in multivariable models. CONCLUSION: In a large adult cohort with CKD, hematuria was associated with a significantly higher risk of CKD progression and death in the first 2 years of follow-up but did not improve risk prediction.

Longitudinal Weight Change During CKD Progression and Its Association With Subsequent Mortality.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated the changes in weight that may occur over time among adults with the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Whether such weight changes are independently associated with death after the onset of end-stage renal disease has also not been rigorously examined. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: We studied 3,933 participants of the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study, a longitudinal cohort of patients with CKD. We also performed similar analyses among 1,067 participants of the African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK). PREDICTORS: Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and weight change during CKD. OUTCOME: Weight and all-cause mortality after dialysis therapy initiation. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 5.7 years in CRIC, weight change was not linear. Weight was stable until cystatin C-based eGFR (eGFRcys) decreased to <35mL/min/1.73m2; thereafter, weight declined at a mean rate of 1.45 kg (95% CI, 1.19-1.70) for every 10 mL/min/1.73m2 decline in eGFRcys. Among the 770 CRIC participants who began hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis therapy during follow-up, a >5% annualized weight loss after eGFR decreased to <35mL/min/1.73m2 was associated with a 54% higher risk for death after dialysis therapy initiation (95% CI, 1.17-2.03) compared with those with more stable weight (annualized weight changes within 5% of baseline) in adjusted analysis. Similar findings were observed in the AASK. LIMITATIONS: Inclusion of research participants only; inability to distinguish intentional versus unintentional weight loss. CONCLUSIONS: Significant weight loss began relatively early during the course of CKD and was associated with a substantially higher risk for death after dialysis therapy initiation. Further studies are needed to determine whether interventions to optimize weight and nutritional status before the initiation of dialysis therapy will improve outcomes after end-stage renal disease.