Patient-Reported Outcomes Over 24 Months in Pediatric CKD: Findings From the MyKidneyHealth Cohort Study.

2023

03/2023

1523-6838

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVE: The lived experience of children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is poorly characterized. We examined the associations between patient-reported outcomes (PROs) measuring children's fatigue, sleep health, psychological distress, family relationships, and global health with clinical outcomes over time in children with CKD and investigated how PROs of children with CKD compare with those of other children.

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: 212 children 8-21 years-old with CKD and their parents recruited from 16 nephrology programs across North America.

PREDICTORS: CKD stage, disease etiology, sociodemographic and clinical variables.

OUTCOMES: PROs over 2 years.

ANALYTICAL APPROACH: We compared PROs in the CKD sample with a nationally representative general pediatric population. Change of PROs over time and association of sociodemographic and clinical variables with PROs were assessed using multivariable regression models.

RESULTS: 84% parents and 77% children completed PROs at all time points. Baseline PRO scores for children with CKD revealed higher burden of fatigue, sleep-related impairment, psychological distress, impaired global health, and poorer family relationships compared with the general pediatric population, with median score differences ≥ one standard deviation for fatigue and global health. Baseline PRO scores did not differ by CKD stage or glomerular vs. non-glomerular etiology. Over two years, PROs were stable with < 1-point annual change on average on each measure and intraclass correlation coefficients ranging 0.53 to 0.79, indicating high stability. Hospitalization and parent-reported sleep problems were associated with worse fatigue, psychological health and global health scores (all p<0.04).

LIMITATIONS: Unable to assess responsiveness to change with dialysis or transplant.

CONCLUSIONS: Children with CKD experience high, yet stable burden of impairment across numerous PRO measures, especially fatigue and global health, independent of disease severity. These findings underscore the importance of assessing PRO, including fatigue and sleep measures, in this vulnerable population.

10.1053/j.ajkd.2022.12.014

Am J Kidney Dis

36889426

Multi-parametric MRI of kidney disease progression for autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease: mouse model and initial patient results.

2021

157-162

2021 01

1530-0447

<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) is a rare but potentially lethal genetic disorder typically characterized by diffuse renal microcysts. Clinical trials for patients with ARPKD are not currently possible due to the absence of sensitive measures of ARPKD kidney disease progression and/or therapeutic efficacy.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>In this study, animal and human magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners were used to obtain quantitative kidney T1 and T2 relaxation time maps for both excised kidneys from bpk and wild-type (WT) mice as well as for a pediatric patient with ARPKD and a healthy adult volunteer.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Mean kidney T1 and T2 relaxation times showed significant increases with age (p &lt; 0.05) as well as significant increases in comparison to WT mice (p &lt; 2 × 10). Significant or nearly significant linear correlations were observed for mean kidney T1 (p = 0.030) and T2 (p = 0.054) as a function of total kidney volume, respectively. Initial magnetic resonance fingerprinting assessments in a patient with ARPKD showed visible increases in both kidney T1 and T2 in comparison to the healthy volunteer.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>These preclinical and initial clinical MRI studies suggest that renal T1 and T2 relaxometry may provide an additional outcome measure to assess cystic kidney disease progression in patients with ARPKD.</p>

<p><strong>IMPACT: </strong>A major roadblock for implementing clinical trials in patients with ARPKD is the absence of sensitive measures of ARPKD kidney disease progression and/or therapeutic efficacy. A clinical need exists to develop a safe and sensitive measure for kidney disease progression, and eventually therapeutic efficacy, for patients with ARPKD. Mean kidney T1 and T2 MRI relaxation times showed significant increases with age (p &lt; 0.05) as well as significant increases in comparison to WT mice (p &lt; 2 ×10), indicating that T1 and T2 may provide sensitive assessments of cystic changes associated with progressive ARPKD kidney disease. This preclinical and initial clinical study suggests that MRI-based kidney T1 and T2 mapping could be used as a non-invasive assessment of ARPKD kidney disease progression. These non-invasive, quantitative MRI techniques could eventually be used as an outcome measure for clinical trials evaluating novel therapeutics aimed at limiting or preventing ARPKD kidney disease progression.</p>

10.1038/s41390-020-0883-9

Pediatr Res

32283547