Table 1:

Characteristics of 2672 patients referred for chronic kidney disease by primary care physicians before and after automatic reporting of the estimated glomerular filtration rate by laboratories was introduced

CharacteristicPeriod; no. (%) of referrals*p value
Before reporting began
n = 1207
After reporting began
n = 1465
Age, yr
< 50220 (18.2)218 (14.9)0.02
50–64272 (22.5)309 (21.1)0.4
65–79504 (41.8)564 (38.5)0.1
≥ 80211 (17.5)374 (25.5)< 0.001
Median (IQR)68.9 (55.2–80)71.2 (58.4–80.2)< 0.001
Sex, female503 (41.7)795 (54.3)< 0.001
Serum creatinine, μmol/Ln = 1137n = 1352
> 150417 (36.7)492 (36.4)0.9
≤ 150720 (63.3)860 (63.6)0.9
Median (IQR)133 (105–166)135 (109–168)0.1
Estimated GFR, mL/min per 1.73 m2n = 1137n = 1352
< 30214 (18.8)322 (23.8)0.003
30–59644 (56.6)796 (58.9)0.3
≥ 60279 (24.5)234 (17.3)< 0.001
Median (IQR)44.7 (33.3–59.7)41.8 (30.7–54.6)0.01
Protein excretion, g/dn = 588n = 697
Median (IQR)0.17 (0.08–0.45)0.14 (0.04–0.44)0.9
  • Note: GFR = glomerular filtration rate, IQR = interquartile range.

  • * Unless stated otherwise.