Comorbid CKD, Hep C Tied to Greater Kidney Function Decline

Among patients with stages 3­–5 of chronic kidney disease (CKD), untreated hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection may be tied to greater kidney function decline.

Researchers arrived at this conclusion following a retrospective cohort study of patients aged 18 years or older with diagnoses of incident HCV and CKD between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2014.

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A total of 151,974 patients with CKD only and 1603 with both HCV and CKD were identified. All participants in the study were members of the Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States healthcare plans.

The rate of change in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated using generalized estimating equations and compared between groups. The risks for 25% decrease in eGFR and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) were compared via Cox proportional hazards models in patient with HCV and CKD vs CKD only.

The results of the study indicated that patients with HCV and CKD had a greater adjusted annual decline of eGFR compared with patients with CKD only (-1.61 ml/min per 1.73 m² vs

-1.04 ml/min per 1.73 m²).

Moreover, patients with HCV and CKD had 1.87- and 1.93-times higher hazards for a 25% decline in eGFR and for ESKD, respectively, compared with patients with CKD only.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Tartof SY, Hsu JW, Wei R, et al. Kidney function decline in patients with CKD and untreated hepatitis C infection [Published online September 21, 2018]. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. https://doi.org/10.2215/CJN.01530218