“Race is a social construct; it is not a biological determinant of health or disease,” he said.

Posted in Excerpts/Quotes on 2021-11-29 02:30Z by Steven

The initial move across the country to change the formula was initially sparked about five years ago by medical students who raised questions about using race in medical tests and the influence it can have on a patient’s treatment.

Paul Palevsky, president of the National Kidney Foundation, said the inclusion of race sends a “wrong message.”

“Race is a social construct; it is not a biological determinant of health or disease,” he said.

Ovetta Wiggins, “University of Maryland Medical System drops race-based algorithm officials say harms Black patients,” The Washington Post, November 17, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/maryland-hospital-black-diagnostic-test-kidneys/2021/11/17/e69edcfc-4711-11ec-b05d-3cb9d96eb495_story.html.

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NKF and ASN Release New Way to Diagnose Kidney Diseases

Posted in Articles, Health/Medicine/Genetics, Media Archive on 2021-09-27 19:08Z by Steven

NKF and ASN Release New Way to Diagnose Kidney Diseases

National Kidney Foundation
2021-09-23

Both Organizations Recommend Race-Free Approach to Estimate GFR

Sept. 23, 2021, New York, NY – Today, the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Task Force on Reassessing the Inclusion of Race in Diagnosing Kidney Diseases has released its final report, which outlines a new race-free approach to diagnose kidney disease. In the report, the NKF-ASN Task Force recommends the adoption of the new eGFR 2021 CKD EPI creatinine equation that estimates kidney function without a race variable. The task force also recommended increased use of cystatin C combined with serum (blood) creatinine, as a confirmatory assessment of GFR or kidney function. The final report, published today online in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases (AJKD) and the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN), was drafted with considerable input from hundreds of patients and family members, medical students and other trainees, clinicians, scientists, health professionals, and other stakeholders to achieve consensus for an unbiased and most reasonably accurate estimation of GFR so that laboratories, clinicians, patients and public health officials can make informed decisions to ensure equity and personalized care for patients with kidney diseases…

Read the entire press release here.

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