The CKD Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (CKDopps): Rationale and Methods.

Area of Science:

• Nephrology
• Clinical Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Managing advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) and its transition to dialysis or transplantation presents significant clinical challenges.
• Evidence is needed to understand how CKD care practices influence patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe and evaluate variations in nephrologist-led CKD care practices internationally.
• To identify specific CKD care patterns associated with improved patient outcomes, particularly in advanced stages.
• To focus on the patient experience during the transition to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD).

Main Methods:

• The CKD Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (CKDopps) is a prospective international cohort study.
• Enrolling 12,200 non-dialysis-dependent CKD patients across Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, and the US.
• Collecting demographic, clinical, laboratory, treatment, and patient-reported data at regular intervals; annual surveys of nephrologist practices.

Main Results:

• The study is powered to detect hazard ratios for mortality and for mortality or transition to ESKD.
• Data collection occurs within routine clinical care, facilitating real-world practice analysis.

Conclusions:

• CKDopps aims to characterize practice variation in nephrology clinics and link it to patient outcomes.
• Findings are expected to yield practical, implementable insights for improving care in advanced CKD.
• The study establishes a multinational research infrastructure for future collaboration and investigation.