Patient-reported and actionable safety events in CKD

Area of Science:

• Nephrology
• Patient Safety
• Clinical Research

Background:

• Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients face elevated risks for adverse safety events due to complex care needs and reduced kidney function.
• Impaired renal function in CKD can exacerbate the impact of medications and health conditions, increasing vulnerability to safety incidents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the baseline frequency of adverse safety events in predialysis CKD patients.
• To determine the extent to which different types of adverse safety events co-occur within this patient population.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the observational Safe Kidney Care study involving predialysis CKD patients.
• Examined patient-reported incidents (Class I) and actionable safety findings (Class II), considering drug use.
• Employed association analysis, a data-mining technique, to identify co-occurrences of safety events.

Main Results:

• Out of 267 participants, 69.3% experienced at least one Class I or II event, and 38.2% had multiple events.
• Common events included patient-reported hypoglycemia and hyperkalemia (serum potassium >5.5 mEq/L).
• Hypoglycemia (in diabetic patients) and falls/dizziness (in non-diabetic patients) were frequently associated with other adverse events.

Conclusions:

• Adverse safety events are prevalent and diverse in CKD patients, often occurring concurrently.
• Identifying the CKD "safety phenotype" and high-risk individuals requires further investigation to mitigate adverse events.