Comparison of Markers of Kidney Function

Study Summary

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is the best known measurement of kidney function. Serum creatinine (blood test) is the most commonly used marker to predict GFR. It is a convenient, inexpensive test that involves a single blood draw with rapid results. However, creatinine has several limitations because its blood level is dependent on age, body mass, and sex. One of the gold standards for measuring GFR is plasma clearance of an IV injected agent, iohexol. It has been found to be safe and nontoxic in prior studies, but is not practical in the clinical setting due to the need for several timed blood draws. Recent studies have investigated the use of cystatin C as an alternative marker to predict GFR. Cystatin C also involves only a single blood draw, and has less confounding factors than creatinine since it is independent of age, body mass, and sex. Currently, it remains controversial whether cystatin C is a significantly better biomarker of estimated GFR than creatinine. To date, there has not been a large prospective cohort study to compare cystatin C and creatinine in pediatric kidney transplant patients who are on maintenance immunosuppression (anti-rejection drugs). Accurate measurement and early detection of deterioration of GFR is critical in the care of this patient population. The purpose of this study is to assess the accuracy of estimating GFR by using cystatin C versus creatinine clearance equations when compared to the surrogate gold standard of iohexol GFR in pediatric renal transplant patients.