Objective: The present study was designed to determine the degree of fulfillment of the therapeutic objectives recommended in the clinical guidelines in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in a nephrology outpatient clinic and the treatment that the patients were receiving to control these objectives.
Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was performed in unselected patients with CKD (stages 1-5) who attended the nephrology outpatient clinic of the Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón for follow up between 1st January and 1st April 2006.
Results: Data from 600 patients with a mean age of 62.8 years (56.5% male) were collected. The distribution of patients according to the stage (S) of CKD was as follows: S1: 11.5%, S2: 18%, S3: 36.7%, S4: 27.5% and S5: 6.3%. The target blood pressure (BP) < 130/80 mmHg was reached in 35.5%. The target diastolic blood pressure was controlled in 70%. However, systolic blood pressure increasing significantly with age and the degree of renal failure was controlled only in 42%. Total cholesterol was <or=175 mg/dl in 33.3% of patients, LDL-cholesterol was <or=100 mg/dl in 40.6% of patients (53.6% with statins) and HDL-cholesterol was >or=50 mg/l in 64.1% of patients. Triglyceride level was related to renal function (p=0.04). Most of the patients (94%) had hemoglobin (Hb) levels >or=11 g/dl, because of a significant increase in the percentage of patients treated with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents as the degree of renal function is reduced. Target levels of calcium-phosphorus (CaXP) product (<55 mg2/dl 2) were maintained in all the stages at the expense of decreased Ca and increased P in relation to the decrease in glomerular filtrate (p=0.001). Target Ca (8.4-9.5 mg/dl) was reached in 85% of cases (2% of patients in S3, 37% of patients in S4 and 54% in S5 were receiving calcitriol). Phosphorus levels were adequate in 80% of patients, but target levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH) were maintained only in 28.6% of patients in S3 (35-70 pg/ml), 14% of patients in S4 (70-110 pg/ml) and 28% in S-5 (115-300 pg/ml).
Conclusions: Anemia is the best controlled factor of all the factors related to renal function. The degree of control of blood pressure (BP) has improved in recent years. However, it is still poor, particularly the control of systolic blood pressure getting worse with renal failure and age. It is difficult to reach the target PTH, despite adequate levels of Ca and P. Cholesterol levels, unlike triglyceride levels, do not depend on renal function and require an increase in the use and/or doses of cholesterol-lowering drugs.