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Updated: May 22, 2026

Physiology Lab Demonstration: Glomerular Filtration Rate in a Rat
Published on: July 26, 2015
Time to change the glomerular filtration rate estimating formula in primary care?
Päivi E Korhonen1, Hannu Kautiainen, Salme Järvenpää
1Central Satakunta Health Federation of Municipalities, Harjavalta, Finland. paivi.e.korhonen@fimnet.fi
Background:
The most commonly used equation for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is nowadays the four-variable Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation. This formula was derived from patients with non-diabetic chronic kidney disease (CKD) with mean GFR 40 ml/min.
Methods:
We compared the MDRD study equation and the recently developed Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation by applying the two formulas in 1747 middle-aged cardiovascular risk persons in primary care.
Results:
The prevalence of renal insufficiency defined as eGFR<60 ml/min was 6.7% (95% CI 5.6-8.0) according to the MDRD formula, and 3.6% (95% CI 2.8-4.6) according to the CKD-EPI formula. The subjects who were classified as having CKD according to the MDRD equation, but no-CKD according to the CKD-EPI formula, were mostly women (86%) and slightly younger than the subjects having CKD according to both formulas.
Conclusion:
The characteristics of the subjects commonly treated in primary care resemble more closely the population from which the CKD-EPI than the MDRD study equation was derived from. Thus, we suppose that in general practice, the CKD-EPI equation is more suitable for estimating renal function than the MDRD equation.
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