Title
Clinical Practice Patterns in IgA Nephropathy: A Global Questionnaire-Based Survey.
Link to article in PubMed
Author(s)
Bansal, Bhavik
Grewal, Amritesh
Teo, Boon Wee
Shima, Yuko
He, Haidong
Subbiah, Arunkumar
Bhowmik, Dipankar
Agarwal, Sanjay Kumar
Trimarchi, Hernán
Bagchi, Soumita
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: IgA nephropathy (IgAN) displays ethnic differences in disease phenotype. We aimed to examine how this common disease is managed worldwide. METHODS: An online 2-step questionnaire-based survey was conducted among nephrologists globally focusing on various management strategies used in IgAN. RESULTS: A total of 422 nephrologists responded to the initial survey and 339 to the follow-up survey. Of the nephrologists, 13.7% do not get MEST-C scores in biopsy reports; 97.2% of nephrologists use renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) blockade with angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) / angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) as initial treatment. Other supportive treatments commonly employed are fish oil (43.6%) and sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors (48.6%) with regional differences. Immunosuppression is generally (92.4%) initiated when proteinuria >1 g/d persists for ≥3 months.Main considerations for initiating immunosuppression are level of proteinuria (87.9%), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline (78.7%), lack of response to RAAS blockade (57.6%) and MEST-C score (64.9%). Corticosteroids (89.1%) are universally used as first-line immunosuppression; mycophenolate mofetil is commonly used in resistant patients (49.3%). Only 30.4% nephrologist enroll patients with persistent proteinuria >1 g/d in clinical trials. Nephrologists in Europe (63.6%), North America (56.5%), and Australia (63.6%) are more likely to do so compared to South America (31.3%) and Asia (17.2%). Only 8.1% nephrologists in lower-middle income countries (LMICs) enroll patients in clinical trials, though 40% of them are aware of such trials in their nations. CONCLUSION: Although most nephrologists agree on common parameters to assess clinical severity of IgAN, use of RAAS blockade, and blood pressure control, there is heterogeneity in use of other supportive therapies and initiation of immunosuppression. There is reluctance to enroll patients in clinical trials with novel treatments, principally in LMICs.
Publication information
Kidney Int Rep. 2023 Oct 4;8(12):2557-2568. doi: 10.1016/j.ekir.2023.09.034. eCollection 2023 Dec.
Date Issued
2023-10-04
Type
Journal Article
Journal Title
Kidney international reports
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