Nomenclature for kidney function and disease—executive summary and glossary from a Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) consensus conference

Abstract

The worldwide burden of kidney disease is rising, but public awareness remains limited, underscoring the need for more effective communication by stakeholders in the kidney health community. Despite this need for clarity, the nomenclature for describing kidney function and disease lacks uniformity. In June 2019, Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) convened a consensus conference with the goal of standardizing and refining the nomenclature used in the English language to describe kidney function and disease, and of developing a glossary that could be used by journals in scientific publications. Guiding principles of the conference were that the revised nomenclature should be patient-centred, precise, and consistent with nomenclature used in the KDIGO guidelines. Conference attendees reached general consensus on the following recommendations: (i) to use ‘kidney’ rather than ‘renal’ or ‘nephro’ when referring to kidney disease and kidney function; (ii) to use ‘kidney failure’ with appropriate descriptions of the presence or absence of symptoms, signs, and treatment rather than ‘end-stage’ kidney disease; (iii) to use the KDIGO definition and classification of acute kidney diseases and disorders (AKD) and acute kidney injury (AKI) rather than alternative descriptions to define and classify the severity of AKD and AKI; (iv) to use the KDIGO definition and classification of chronic kidney disease (CKD) rather than alternative descriptions to define and classify the severity of CKD; and (v) to use specific kidney measures, such as albuminuria or decreased glomerular filtration rate, rather than ‘abnormal or reduced kidney function’ to describe alterations in kidney structure and function. A proposed five-part glossary contains specific items for which there was general agreement. Conference attendees acknowledged limitations of the recommendations and glossary but considered that standardizing scientific nomenclature is essential for improving communication.

Prognostic value of NT-proBNP and CA125 across glomerular filtration rate categories in acute heart failure

“…To investigate the effect of kidney function on the association of NT-proBNP and CA125 with survival, we stratified patients according to eGFR into four clinical strata: <30 mL•min -1 •1.73 m -2 ; 30-44 mL•min -1 •1.73 m -2 ; 44-59 mL•min -1 •1.73 m -2 , and ≥60 mL•min -1 •1.73 m -2 [17]. Continuous variables are presented as mean (± standard deviation [SD]) or median (interquartile range [IQR]), as appropriate.…”

Impact of Isolated High Home Systolic Blood Pressure and Diabetic Nephropathy in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A 5-Year Prospective Cohort Study

“…The present study included patients with type 2 DM; the impact of HBP on the risk of diabetic nephropathy was evaluated. Nephropathy was graded as follows: normal or mild albuminuria, defined as urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR) < 30 mg per gram of creatinine (mg/g Cr); moderately increased albuminuria (microalbuminuria), defined as UACR 30–300 mg/g Cr; or severely increased albuminuria (macroalbuminuria), defined as UACR >300 mg/g Cr [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. The development of diabetic nephropathy was defined as an advancement from normal or mild albuminuira to moderately or severely increased albuminuria within 5 years.…”

Impact of kidney function on the occurrence of new-onset atrial fibrillation in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction

“…Kidney function was assessed by estimation of the glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at admission using the modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD) equation. A value of < 90 mL/min/m 2 was considered to be reduced baseline eGFR; and, in relation to the eGFR value, reduced kidney function was classified into the following stages-mildly reduced (eGFR 60-89 mL/min/m 2 ), mildly to moderately reduced (eGFR 45-59 mL/min/m 2 ), moderately to severely reduced (eGFR 30-44 mL/min/m 2 ), and severely reduced (eGFR 15-29 mL/min/m 2 ) (19).…”