Patient selection has a strong impact on cystatin C and Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) estimated glomerular filtration rate

Objective Estimation of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is essential for the evaluation of patients with kidney disease, and for correct dosage of drugs that are eliminated from the circulation by the kidneys. In most cases GFR is estimated based on serum creatinine and the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formula. As both cystatin C and creatinine are used for the determination of GFR it is important to investigate if estimated GFR by the two methods differ in various patient groups. Design and methods We have compared cystatin C and MDRD estimated GFR calculated from the same request from primary care units (n = 488), a cardiology ward (n = 826), the cardiointensive care unit (n = 1026), two oncology wards (n = 919 and 1021), and the neurosurgical intensive care unit (n = 1515) in an observational cross-sectional study. Results We found better agreement between the two GFR estimates in samples from primary care patients and patients in the cardiology wards, than in samples from oncology wards or the neurosurgical intensive care unit. In the latter settings there was a pronounced difference between the two GFR estimates. Conclusion The comparisons show that differences in patient selections have a strong impact on the agreement between cystatin C and MDRD estimated glomerular filtration rate.