DOPPS branches out into CKD

Prevention of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and optimal management to delay disease progression are important public health necessities. Caring for patients with CKD is costly. However, when CKD progresses to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), the cost of kidney disease dramatically increases in terms of health care dollars, quality of life, and longevity. Understanding practices related to the best outcomes, delaying progression, and preventing ESRD for patients with CKD is critical.

Despite the prevalence of CKD and established international treatment guidelines such as Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO), it is unclear which aspects of CKD management most strongly influence disease progression. We also don’t know how closely nephrology care of CKD patients actually follows KDIGO guidelines.

The Chronic Kidney Disease Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (CKDopps) is a new international cohort study that aims to describe and evaluate nephrology-led practices in CKD management. The CKDopps has launched in Brazil, France, Japan, Germany, and the U.S. Enrollment is ongoing with the goal of enrolling 12,200 non-dialysis or transplant dependent adult patients with stage III-V CKD across these five countries.

Many CKD studies are limited to academic medical centers, which can make the results difficult to apply more broadly to patients receiving care in a variety of settings. The CKDopps seeks to understand care as it is actually provided in various “real-world” practices. Thus, it is vitally important to include clinics from diverse settings across the US and the world.

The CKDopps is built on a model established by the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS), an international, observational study of hemodialysis care that has helped to define practice patterns that are associated with better outcomes for hemodialysis patients internationally.

For example, the DOPPS has shown that the highest mortality for hemodialysis patients is in the first four months of hemodialysis therapy, in each study country. This type of observation allows nephrologists to target high-risk patients for strategies to mitigate risk, including mortality.

Similarly, the CKDopps seeks to define practice patterns that will help inform optimization of care for patients with advanced CKD. Predictors that are being studied include patient demographics and comorbidities, laboratory data, and disease treatment, including medication prescription, blood pressure control, diabetes and cardiovascular disease management, among others.

Additionally, patient reported data including burden of disease and understanding of treatment options are being collected.

How to enroll in CKDopps

The CKDopps is already collecting data from a randomly enrolled sample of clinics, and now plans to expand participation to clinics interested in volunteering to be part of CKDopps. Each site will target enrollment of up to 80 adult patients with CKD Stages 3b-5 over 18 months, with follow-up for three years.

By joining CKDopps, you make a valuable contribution to a international study that we believe will meaningfully improve outcomes for CKD patients, with participation helpful for achieving ABIM requirements for those clinics participating in CKDopps.

To learn more, or if you are interested in participating please contact Chris Kippola at 1.800.367.7760 or CKDopps@ArborResearch.org.