title: Chronic kidney disease in general practice: prevalence, diagnosis, and standards of care.
abstract: There is little prevalence data for chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Ireland and it has been suggested that rates of diagnosis of CKD in primary care are low. The aim of this cross sectional study was to examine the prevalence, diagnosis and standards of care for CKD. All patient records in three general practices in the West of Ireland were reviewed. In 2602 patients > 50 years in the community, 435 (16.7%) had chronic kidney disease defined as eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m2. Of these 435 individuals, only 58 (13.3%) had a diagnosis of CKD documented in their patient record. Among all patients with an eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m2, those with a documented diagnosis of CKD were significantly more likely to be prescribed an ACE/ARB and a lipid-lowering agent and were more likely to have had an ACR/PCR checked in the previous twelve months. Blood pressure was being appropriately monitored in the majority of patients but irrespective of eGFR level or a documented diagnosis of CKD, less than a fifth of patients had achieved a target of <130/80 mmHg. CKD is common in primary care but remains largely undiagnosed and blood pressure control remains suboptimal. A key step in improving care appears to be documenting the diagnosis which in turn appears to lead to improved standards of care and risk factor management.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice, National University of Ireland, Galway. liam.glynn@nuigalway.ie
authors.forename: L G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Glynn
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reddan
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D047228:Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019985:Benchmarking; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005919:Glomerular Filtration Rate; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D047228:Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents