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Utility Study Indicates KidneyIntelX Risk Assessment can Address Treatment Ambiguity in Primary Care

June 4, 2021

RenalytixA has announced results from a new utility study. The study confirms the importance of risk assessment testing in addressing treatment ambiguity in the early stages of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and improving patient engagement and adherence – two major barriers to slowing or preventing DKD progression and preserving kidney health. In clinical studies, KidneyIntelX has shown to accurately predict progression of DKD, suggesting that KidneyIntelX risk assessment could support primary care physicians in making appropriate treatment decisions and slowing or preventing DKD progression.

In this qualitative study, involving 16 primary care physicians, 100% of clinician study participants confirmed that early-stage kidney risk assessment, like that provided by KidneyIntelX, will help to address suboptimal therapy, which can lead to rapid progression, increased hospital admissions, emergency room visits, potential kidney failure, need for dialysis, decreased quality of life, and increased costs.

The publication titled, “A Qualitative Study Documenting Unmet Needs in the Management of Diabetic Kidney Disease (DKD) in the Primary Care Setting,” was published in BMC Public Health on May 17, 2021.

Dr. Joseph Vassalotti, Chief Medical Officer of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and Clinical Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai Health System, commented, “The NKF believes primary care physicians have the power to change the outcome for the vast majority of individuals with early-stage kidney disease who are at risk for progressive kidney disease. Americans living with kidney diseases universally express the preference for early diagnosis. This study confirms the compelling data presented at this year’s NKF Spring Clinical Meeting that KidneyIntelX could be widely adopted by primary care physicians (PCPs) and could alter how at-risk populations with type-2 diabetes can receive early education and therapeutic intervention to reduce DKD complications and kidney failure.”

In the study, 94% of PCP participants found that kidney disease was difficult to manage in their type-2 diabetes patients. Accurate risk stratification is a critical unmet need and can lead to delays in effective, early interventions.

The study was based on qualitative interviews with sixteen PCPs treating DKD patients. Participating PCPs specialized in internal medicine or family medicine and worked across the major settings of care in the U.S., including private practices, academic medical centers, and integrated delivery networks. Four main themes in DKD were analyzed in the study: Screening Practices; Perceived Knowledge Gaps; Treatment Variability; and the Importance of Risk Stratification.

Kidney disease is now recognized as a public health epidemic affecting over 850 million people globally. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 15% of US adults, or 37 million people, currently have chronic kidney disease (CKD).