Effectiveness of Pharmacist Interventions on Cardiovascular Risk in Patients With CKD: A Subgroup Analysis of the Randomized Controlled RxEACH Trial.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Affecting a substantial proportion of adults, chronic kidney disease (CKD) is considered a major risk factor for cardiovascular (CV) events. It has been reported that patients with CKD are underserved when it comes to CV risk reduction efforts. STUDY DESIGN: Prespecified subgroup analysis of a randomized controlled trial. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: Adults with CKD and at least 1 uncontrolled CV risk factor were enrolled from 56 pharmacies across Alberta, Canada. INTERVENTION Patient, laboratory, and individualized CV risk assessments; treatment recommendations; prescription adaptation(s) and/or initiation as necessary; and regular monthly follow-up for 3 months. OUTCOMES: The primary outcome was change in estimated CV risk from baseline to 3 months after randomization. Secondary outcomes were change between baseline and 3 months after randomization in individual CV risk factors (ie, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood pressure, and hemoglobin A1c), risk for developing end-stage renal disease, and medication use and dosage; tobacco cessation 3 months after randomization for those who used tobacco at baseline; and the impact of rural versus urban residence on the difference in change in estimated CV risk. MEASUREMENTS CV risk was estimated using the Framingham, UK Prospective Diabetes Study, and international risk assessment equations depending on the patients' comorbid conditions. RESULTS: 290 of the 723 participants enrolled in RxEACH had CKD. After adjusting for baseline values, the difference in change in CV risk was 20% (P<0.001). Changes of 0.2mmol/L in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration (P=0.004), 10.5mmHg in systolic blood pressure (P<0.001), 0.7% in hemoglobin A1c concentration (P<0.001), and 19.6% in smoking cessation (P=0.04) were observed when comparing the intervention and control groups. There was a larger reduction in CV risk in patients living in rural locations versus those living in urban areas. LIMITATIONS: The 3-month follow-up period can be considered relatively short. It is possible that larger reduction in CV risk could have been observed with a longer follow up period. CONCLUSIONS: This subgroup analysis demonstrated that a community pharmacy-based intervention program reduced CV risk and improved control of individual CV risk factors. This represents a promising approach to identifying and managing patients with CKD that could have important public health implications.