NKF launches tool that predicts kidney disease progression in children
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The National Kidney Foundation has launched a clinical tool that assesses chronic kidney disease in pediatric patients, thereby allowing for improved predictions of disease progression.
According to an NKF press release, development of the tool, known as the Pediatric Kidney Failure Risk Calculator, was led by Bradley A. Warady, MD, who serves as chief of the division of nephrology and director of Dialysis and Transplantation at Children’s Mercy Kansas City. The NIH-funded Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD) Study, which Warady co-authored, was used as the basis for the calculator.
“I am pleased that the National Kidney Foundation is making the Pediatric Kidney Failure Risk Calculator widely available to health care professionals,” Warady said in the release. “It is extremely rewarding to see the efforts of all those involved in the CKiD study, investigators, and patients alike, result in the development of a clinical tool that makes possible the provision of important prognostic information that can be incorporated into and enhance the treatment plan for children and adolescents with chronic kidney disease and their families.”
Susan Furth, MD, PhD, chief of the division of nephrology and vice chair of the department of pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, as well as a member of the CKiD research team, also commented on the potential impact of the tool.
“Parents and caregivers of children with kidney disease need information for planning and anticipating health care needs in the future,” she said. “This calculator, which is the result of the joint efforts of patients and providers participating in the CKiD study, uses clinical data from each patient to help predict the trajectory of that child’s kidney function. This will allow appropriate timing for initiation of transplant evaluation or preparation for dialysis to achieve the best outcomes possible for children with CKD.”
The release stated that the calculator is available to all clinicians who treat children with kidney disease and can be found at kidney.org.
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