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Background: Hyperkalemia (HK) is a barrier to optimization of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitor (RAASi) therapy in heart failure (HF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). We investigated cardiorenal risk associated with changes in RAASi regimen after an episode of HK in patients with HF and/or CKD. Methods: This observational study utilized data from hospital records, claims, and health registers from the US (Optum's de-identified Market Clarity Data) and Japan (Medical Data Vision). Included patients had an index episode of HK between July 2019 and September 2021 (US), or May 2020 and September 2021 (Japan), with prior diagnosis of HF or CKD (stage 3 or 4), and RAASi use. Risk of a cardiorenal composite outcome (HF emergency visit, HF hospitalization, or progression to end-stage kidney disease) was determined in patients who discontinued RAASi, down-titrated their dose by > 25%, or maintained or up-titrated their dose following the HK episode. Results: A total of 15,488 and 6020 patients were included from the US and Japan, respectively. Prior to the episode of HK, 59% (US) and 27% (Japan) of patients had achieved > 50% target RAASi dose. Following the episode of HK, 33% (US) and 32% (Japan) of patients did not fill a new RAASi prescription. Risk of the cardiorenal outcome at 6 months was higher in patients who discontinued or down-titrated versus maintained or up-titrated RAASi treatment both in the US (17.5, 18.3, and 10.6%; p < 0.001) and in Japan (19.7, 20.0, and 15.1%; p < 0.001). Conclusion: HK-related RAASi discontinuation or down-titration was associated with higher risk of cardiorenal events versus maintained or up-titrated RAASi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hyperkalaemia is a barrier to achieving optimal, guideline-directed treatment with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors (RAASis) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and/or heart failure (HF). This study describes the association between hyperkalaemia-related RAASi treatment reduction and the number of hospitalized days in patients with CKD and/or HF in Sweden and Japan., Methods: Using data from health registers and hospital medical records, patients with CKD and/or HF currently receiving RAASis who experienced an index hyperkalaemia episode were identified and categorized as having maintained or reduced RAASi treatment post-index; propensity score matching (1:1) was applied to balance the groups in terms of baseline characteristics. Changes in the number of all-cause, CKD- and HF-related hospitalized days per patient-year during 6 months pre- versus post-index and the number of days alive and out of hospital (DAOH) during 6 months post-index were described., Results: Overall, 20 824 and 7789 patients were included from Sweden and Japan, respectively, 42% and 38% of whom reduced their RAASi treatment after the index hyperkalaemia episode. During the 6 months post-index, all-cause hospitalization increased by 18.2 days [95% confidence interval (CI) 17.0-19.2] per person-year in Sweden and 17.9 days (95% CI 17.4-18.5) per person-year in Japan among patients with reduced RAASi treatment compared with increases of 9.4 days (95% CI 8.6-10.4) and 8.5 days (95% CI 8.0-9.0) per person-year, respectively, among patients with maintained RAASi treatment. The mean DAOH was 121.5 [standard deviation (SD) 75.0] in Sweden and 141.7 (SD 54.5) in Japan among patients with reduced RAASi treatment compared with 154.0 (SD 51.3) and 157.5 (SD 31.6), respectively, among patients with maintained RAASi treatment., Conclusion: Patients whose RAASi treatment was reduced after a hyperkalaemia episode had more hospitalized days and fewer DAOH compared with patients whose RAASi treatment was maintained., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the ERA.)

Objectives: REVEAL-CKD aims to estimate the prevalence of, and factors associated with, undiagnosed stage 3 chronic kidney disease (CKD)., Design: Multinational, observational study., Setting: Data from six country-specific electronic medical records and/or insurance claims databases from five countries (France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the USA [two databases])., Participants: Eligible participants (≥18 years old) had ≥2 consecutive estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) measurements (calculated from serum creatinine values, sex and age) taken from 2015 onwards that were indicative of stage 3 CKD (≥30 and <60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ). Undiagnosed cases lacked an International Classification of Diseases 9/10 diagnosis code for CKD (any stage) any time before, and up to 6 months after, the second qualifying eGFR measurement (study index)., Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome was point prevalence of undiagnosed stage 3 CKD. Time to diagnosis was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier approach. Factors associated with lacking a CKD diagnosis and risk of diagnostic delay were assessed using logistic regression adjusted for baseline covariates., Results: The prevalence of undiagnosed stage 3 CKD was 95.5% (19 120/20 012 patients) in France, 84.3% (22 557/26 767) in Germany, 77.0% (50 547/65 676) in Italy, 92.1% (83 693/90 902) in Japan, 61.6% (13 845/22 470) in the US Explorys Linked Claims and Electronic Medical Records Data database and 64.3% (161 254/250 879) in the US TriNetX database. The prevalence of undiagnosed CKD increased with age. Factors associated with undiagnosed CKD were female sex (vs male, range of odds ratios across countries: 1.29-1.77), stage 3a CKD (vs 3b, 1.81-3.66), no medical history (vs a history) of diabetes (1.26-2.77) or hypertension (1.35-1.78)., Conclusions: There are substantial opportunities to improve stage 3 CKD diagnosis, particularly in female patients and older patients. The low diagnosis rates in patients with comorbidities that put them at risk of disease progression and complications require attention., Trial Registration: NCT04847531., Competing Interests: Competing interests: SB, EP, HC, KJ, and EW are employees of AstraZeneca and hold stock options. MA is an employee of AstraZeneca. NT has received grants from AstraZeneca, Boehringer 21 Ingelheim/Eli Lilly and Company, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd and Tricida, has received honoraria from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim/Eli Lilly and Company, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Otsuka Pharmaceutical and Tricida and holds stock options from Mesentech, Rénibus Therapeutics, pulseData and Tricida. MPS has received advisory board fees and honoraria from AstraZeneca, Bayer AG, Vifor Pharma Group and Boehringer Ingelheim/Eli Lilly and Company. LDN has received fees for scientific consultation and/or lectures by Astellas Pharma, AstraZeneca, Mundipharma and Vifor Pharma Group. PK has received speaker’s bureau and advisory board fees from AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Company and Novo Nordisk A/S, speaker’s fees from Bayer AG and honoraria from AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly and Company. TM and JBV have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)