To reduce racial health disparities, researchers have suggested a new approach for estimating kidney function that removes race from the equation (1). “Our research showed that if you use a blood cystatin C test instead of a blood creatinine test, you don’t need to include race to get a similarly accurate estimate of kidney function,” said Alan S. Go, co-senior author on the study (2).
The results have informed the National Kidney Foundation and the American Society of Nephrology Task Force’s final report on diagnosing kidney disease without a race variable (3). Within the report, the group recommends use of the new eGFR 2021 CKD EPI creatinine equation while increasing use of cystatin C combined with serum creatinine to confirm glomerular filtration rate or kidney function assessment.

References
- CY Hsu et al., N Engl J Med, [Online ahead of print] (2021). PMID: 34554660.
- S Rochman, H Tremblay (2021). Available at: https://k-p.li/3iCOIRl.
- C Delgado et al., Am J Kidney Dis, 78, 103 (2021). PMID: 33845065.