High prevalence of pre-dialysis hyperkalemia found among patients on hemodialysis
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Investigators found a “relatively high” prevalence of pre-dialysis hyperkalemia among patients on hemodialysis, with women, younger patients and Hispanic individuals showing higher rates of the condition, according to findings.
“The issue of pre-dialysis [hyperkalemia] HK needs attention now given the increasing occurrence of end stage renal disease,” Kerry Cooper, MD, a lead researcher of the RE-UTILIZE study and vice president of U.S. medical affairs for the renal division at AstraZeneca, told Healio Nephrology. “Over half a million people in the U.S. have dialysis-dependent ESRD and HK is common in those patients.”
According to the abstract, researchers enrolled 9,347 participants in the retrospective observational cohort study. Of these participants, 58% were men, 49% were older than 66 years and 56% were undergoing hemodialysis, according to the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS) between 2018 and 2019. Patients with at least one potassium lab result were included.
The occurrence of pre-dialysis HK was analyzed during the course of a year and a sensitivity analysis was used to report HK prevalence at 1- and 3-month intervals. According to the researchers, a logistic regression model was used to examine the prevalence of HK and patient characteristic associations.
According to the study abstract, “any pre-dialysis HK (K+ >5 [mEq/L]) occurred in 38% of patients within 1 month, 52% within 3 months and 74% within 1 year of DOPPS enrollment.” The characteristic analysis identified women, patients aged 80 years or younger and Hispanic individuals as having a higher annual HK prevalence.
Study results suggest further research on annual HK prevalence in patients on hemodialysis is needed to inform clinical practice and improve patient care.
“Using DOPPS survey data, the RE-UTILIZE study sheds lights on the low levels of prescribed potassium binder in contrast with the high levels of recurrent HK in those receiving long-term dialysis,” Cooper said. “This data can help support new strategies for clinicians to address pre-dialysis HK more effectively by considering the use of novel potassium binders on non-dialysis days.”
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Agiro A, et al. Abstract #237. Presented at: National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings (virtual meeting); April 6-10, 2021.
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