Prognosis

A plot of the reciprocal of serum creatinine against time is often linear. In this way future renal function may be predicted.

A systematic review of the association between non-dialysis-dependent CKD and the risk for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality was conducted (1)

• thirty-nine studies that followed a total of 1,371,990 participants were reviewed
• unadjusted relative risk for mortality in participants with reduced kidney function compared with those without ranged from 0.94 to 5.0 and was significantly more than 1.0 in 93% of cohorts
• absolute risk for death increased exponentially with decreasing renal function
• the authors concluded that individuals with CKD are at a higher risk for cardiovascular mortality

A community based study of elderly patients with CKD concluded that reduced kidney function predicts noncardiovascular mortality from multiple causes (e.g. pulmonary disease, infection, cancer) in the elderly (2).

Reference:

1. Tonelli M et al. Chronic kidney disease and mortality risk: a systematic review. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2006 Jul;17(7):2034-47
2. Fried LF et al. Kidney function as a predictor of noncardiovascular mortality. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2005 Dec;16(12):3728-35.