Epidemiology of chronic kidney disease after renal transplantation according to different methods of glomerular filtration rate estimation

Abstract

Formulas used currently for estimation of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) have been standardized in population of patients with chronic kidney disease. Application of these formulas in population of renal transplant recipients brings a risk of diminished precision of these equations. We present current state of knowledge on methods of estimation of GFR in renal transplant recipients, based on contemporary literature data and our own analyses. Factors that have influence on variability of results are also described in this article. We discuss consequences of choice of estimation formulas on clinical decision making process. Beyond that we analyze a potential influence of estimation formulas choice on post transplant chronic kidney disease epidemiology. The article contains also suggestion of the best method of GFR estimation in population of renal transplant recipients.