GRAPEVINE, Tex.—CKD is present in nearly 10% of hospitalized patients but is diagnosed in only half of them, according to a study.
Arie Barlev, PharmD, of Amgen, Inc., and colleagues studied 45,258 patients hospitalized in 2003 and who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) value recorded. Of these, 4,317 (9.5%) had CKD, defined as an eGFR below 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2, and only 1,837 of them (43%) had an ICD-9 diagnosis of CKD, the researchers reported in a poster presented here at the National Kidney Foundation’s 2008 Spring Clinical Meetings.
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The patients without an ICD-9 diagnosis have more comorbid conditions and appear to be more severely ill than patients who had an ICD-9 diagnosis, the authors noted.
“Identification and diagnosis of this patient population during hospitalization may provide an opportunity to improve disease management, and an earlier referral to nephrologists when appropriate,” the investigators concluded.
The patients with an ICD-9 diagnosis were about 10 years older than those diagnosed by eGFR.
