Rationale and study design of a randomized controlled trial to assess the effects of maintaining hemoglobin levels using darbepoetin alfa on prevention of development of end-stage kidney disease in non-diabetic CKD patients (PREDICT Trial)

摘要

Anemia associated with high mortality is a common complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Target hemoglobin (Hb) levels for CKD treatment remain controversial: Recent guidelines recommend a maximum of 13 g/dL to avoid increased risk of CVD. However, some smaller studies show slower progression of renal function loss with high Hb targets. Recently, darbepoetin alfa targeting Hb 11-13 g/dL was reported to improve renal composite outcome of Japanese patients compared with a low Hb group maintained at 9.0-11.0 g/dL using epoetin alfa (HR 0.66; 95 % CI 0.47-0.93). The high Hb group showed significant reduction of left ventricular mass index and improved quality of life. Sub-analysis revealed greater beneficial effects in non-diabetic stage 5 CKD patients. This randomized controlled trial, PREDICT, aims to confirm the impact of targeting Hb levels of 11-13 g/dL using darbepoetin alfa with reference to a low Hb target of 9-11 g/dL.