It has long been known that patients with impairment in kidney function require reduced doses of drugs that are substantially eliminated by the kidney. However, it is impractical to measure kidney function in routine practice and so equations that are used to estimate kidney function have been developed. These equations are not precise—they suffer from significant limitations and are not interchangeable, making the process of properly dose adjusting drugs a complex one.
Pharmacists have been at the forefront of selecting and interpreting these equations and armed with effective clinical decision support and surveillance tools, are able to make individualized dosing decisions that will optimize drug therapy for their patients. As clinical evidence continues to emerge, clinical teams will need to make necessary adjustments to take an inclusive approach to treat patients to avoid unintended consequences of established methods of patient assessment and drug dosing.
In this whitepaper:
- Review the history of FDA guidance regarding kidney function estimating equations
- Assess kidney function estimating equations including the Cockcroft-Gault equation, MDRD and CKD-EPI
- Explore clinical practice implications in optimizing medication dosing
- Discover how pharmacy teams leverage tools and technology to improve patient safety and minimize adverse drug events