Introduction: The Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) 2012 guidelines recommend classifying patients by glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and albuminuria to predict chronic kidney disease (CKD) prognosis. The aim of this systematic review was to explore the epidemiological burden of CKD stratified by the KDIGO 2012 categories. Methods: MEDLINEÒ and Embase were searched for observational studies of patients with CKD with results stratified according to the KDIGO 2012 classification. Investigated outcomes were prevalence, incidence, and risk factors and complications of CKD, including mortality. Results: The review included ten observational studies with 3033 to 46,949 participants, conducted in the USA, China, France, Italy and Spain. The most frequently reported outcome was the prevalence of CKD (GFR categories G3-5), ranging from 2% to 17%. Most participants were normoalbuminuric, with 0.4-3.2% macroalbuminuric, and most fell within the KDIGO 2012 low-risk or moderate-risk groups, with 0.9-5.6% in the high-risk and 0.3-4.8% in the very high-risk groups. Although scarce, data on the prevalence of comorbidities in CKD according to the KDIGO classification suggest that they increase with albuminuria severity. Conclusions: Patients with CKD frequently have complications, but only a small proportion have severely increased albuminuria or fall within the KDIGO high-risk or very high-risk groups. These groups, however, are associated with the highest burden of disease, as comorbidities are more prevalent with increasing Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

Introduction The DAPA-CKD trial assessed dapagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) with or without type 2 diabetes (T2D). To aid interpretation of results, renal and cardiovascular outcomes plus healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and costs were assessed in a real-world population similar to that of DAPA-CKD. Methods Henry Ford Health System (2006–2016) data were used to identify patients with CKD stages 2–4 [estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 25–75 ml/min/1.73 m 2 at index and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) 0–5000 mg/g; n = 22,251]. Included patients had confirmatory eGFR ≥ 90 days post-index and no kidney transplant or progression to end-stage kidney disease during 12 months pre-index. The final population ( n = 6557) was stratified by UACR (0–29, 30–199 and 200–5000 mg/g; the last comprising the DAPA-CKD-like cohort). Patients were followed for 5 years post-index. Results Adverse clinical outcomes incidence increased with UACR and was highest for the DAPA-CKD-like cohort (UACR 200–5000 mg/g) versus lower UACR categories (0–29 mg/g and 30–199 mg/g): renal composite outcome (progression to CKD stage 5, dialysis, transplant, ≥ 50% sustained eGFR decline): 26.0% versus 2.2% and 5.8%; heart failure (HF): 36.1% versus 13.9% and 24.6%; myocardial infarction: 11.3% versus 4.7% and 7.4%; stroke: 8.9% versus 4.0% and 5.7%; and mortality: 18.5% versus 6.0% and 11.7%, respectively. Within the DAPA-CKD-like cohort, patients with versus without T2D or HF had a higher frequency of adverse outcomes. The DAPA-CKD-like cohort also had significantly higher annualized per-patient healthcare costs ($39,222/year versus $19,547/year), hospital admission rate (0.55/year versus 0.20/year) and outpatient specialist visit rate (7.55/year versus 6.74/year) versus the lowest UACR category. Conclusion The significant adverse renal and cardiovascular outcomes observed, particularly in the DAPA-CKD-like cohort, represent a substantial burden resulting in increased mortality, HCRU and costs, demonstrating the need for additional treatment options. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12325-020-01609-2.

Introduction Real-world data reporting healthcare resource utilisation and costs associated with end-of-life care for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are limited. We examined length of hospitalisation and costs associated with end-of-life inpatient encounters using retrospective data from DISCOVER CKD. Methods Data on inpatient encounters for patients with CKD aged ≥ 18 years between January 2016 and March 2020 were extracted from the US Premier Hospital Database. Encounters ending in death were identified and grouped by reason for the encounter, using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, and by their insurance coverage. Encounters were evaluated overall and stratified according to cardiovascular (CV), kidney failure and infection-related reasons, and by their coverage by commercial, Medicaid, Medicare or other insurers. Length of hospitalisation and total costs were calculated for encounters. Results Among 237,734 encounters ending in death, the mean [standard deviation (SD)] age was 74.2 (12.4) years, and 45.3% of patients were female. In total, 25,118, 4210 and 76,307 encounters were classified as relating to CV reasons, kidney failure and infection, respectively. Among all encounters, the mean (SD) length of hospitalisation ranged from 9.1 (11.2) (Medicare) to 12.8 (18.4) (Medicaid) days. Across insurers, encounters related to kidney failure were associated with the longest hospitalisations compared with CV and infection [mean range (days): 10.7–15.9 vs. 7.5–10.5 and 8.7–12.7, respectively]. The median [interquartile range (IQR)] total cost of any inpatient encounter was $17,057 ($8040–35,873). Kidney failure-related encounters had higher costs compared with CV and infection [median (IQR), $18,469 ($8673–38,315) vs. $17,503 ($7766–39,693) and $16,403 ($7762–34,910), respectively]. Medicaid-covered encounters had the highest costs of all insurers [median (IQR), $16,189 ($7725–33,443)]. Conclusions Among patients with CKD, end-of-life encounters were most frequently related to infection. Encounters relating to kidney failure incurred the highest costs. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04034992. Graphical Abstract Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12325-021-02010-3.

Background Qualitative patient interviews and patient-reported outcome instruments are important tools to understand the patient experience of disease. The aim of this study was to use patient interviews to identify concepts relevant and important to patients living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 2–3b, develop a comprehensive conceptual model of the patient experience and debrief the Kidney Disease Quality of Life 36-item instrument (KDQOL-36) for patients with CKD stages 2–3b. Methods Concept elicitation interviews were conducted with patients with CKD stages 2–3b to identify signs/symptoms and impacts most relevant and important to patients (i.e., ‘salient’ concepts) and develop a conceptual model for the disease. Based on the salient concepts identified in the interviews, new items were proposed to supplement the KDQOL-36. Cognitive debriefing was performed to evaluate the KDQOL-36 and the additional items. Results A total of 31 patients were interviewed in this study (22 for concept elicitation and 15 for cognitive debriefing). The interviews identified 56 concepts (33 signs/symptoms and 23 impacts), 17 of which had not been identified in a previous literature review. Four signs/symptoms (‘fatigue/lack of energy/tiredness’, ‘sleep problems’, ‘increased urination [including nocturia]’ and ‘swelling in legs/ankles/feet’) and two impacts (‘anxiety/worry’ and ‘general negative emotional/mental impact’) were identified as salient. Of the salient signs/symptoms, three were not covered by the KDQOL-36 (sleep problems, increased urination and swelling in legs/ankles/feet) and were represented during cognitive debriefing interviews through four additional items (trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, increased urination [including nocturia] and swelling in legs/ankles/feet) generated in the style of the KDQOL-36. All patients found the KDQOL-36 plus the four additional items relevant, and the majority found them clear. Conclusions By identifying previously unknown concepts and augmenting the understanding of which are most important to patients, a comprehensive conceptual model was developed for patients who have CKD stages 2–3b. This study also demonstrates the suitability of the KDQOL-36 for patients who have CKD stages 2–3b and provides suggestions for how the instrument could be further developed to more comprehensively capture patient experience.

Delaying disease progression and reducing the risk of mortality are key goals in the treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD). New drug classes to augment renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors as the standard of care have scarcely met their primary endpoints until recently. This systematic literature review explored treatments evaluated in patients with CKD since 1990 to understand what contemporary data add to the treatment landscape. Eighty-nine clinical trials were identified that had enrolled patients with estimated glomerular filtration rate 13.9-102.8 mL/ min/1.73 m 2 and urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) 29.9-2911.0 mg/g, with (75.5%) and without (20.6%) type 2 diabetes (T2D). Clinically objective outcomes of kidney failure and all-cause mortality (ACM) were reported in 32 and 64 trials, respectively. Significant reductions (P \ 0.05) in the risk of kidney failure were observed in seven trials: five small trials published before 2008 had evaluated the RAAS inhibitors losartan, benazepril, or ramipril in patients with (n = 751) or without (n = 84-436) T2D; two larger trials (n = 2152-2202) published onwards of 2019 had evaluated the sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors canagliflozin (in patients with T2D and UACR [ 300-5000 mg/g) and dapagliflozin (in patients with or without T2D and UACR 200-5000 mg/g) added to a background of RAAS inhibition. Significant reductions in ACM were observed with dapagliflozin in the DAPA-CKD trial. Contemporary data therefore suggest that augmenting RAAS inhibitors with new drug classes has the potential to improve clinical outcomes in a broad range of patients with CKD.