In this segment we will answer questions our Product Manager for cystatin C and Product Specialist in the US get about cystatin C at exhibitions, conferences and client meetings. Today’s question is “Which US public health concerns can cystatin C testing help alleviate?".
Which US public health concerns can cystatin C testing help alleviate?
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a growing public health issue with an estimated prevalence of 15% among U.S adults [1]. The high cost of treating end stage renal disease (ESRD) suggests that slowing CKD progression and developing targeted approaches to disease management should be a priority for healthcare systems in the US. Cystatin C testing could ensure that these priorities are met by enabling an unbiased assessment of renal function, which is central to diagnosis and management of kidney disease. In fact, cystatin C has been used to define a preclinical period of reduced kidney function that precedes conventional creatinine-based diagnosis of CKD by 10+ years [2,3].
Incorporating cystatin C testing into CKD patient care could also alleviate racial disparities in kidney disease outcomes, by allowing for assessment of renal function independent of a patient’s muscle mass. One such disparity is that African Americans who are diagnosed with CKD are three times as likely as Caucasians to develop ESRD [4]. Bias inherent in equations used to estimate kidney function solely via creatinine is a significant contributor to this public health issue.
The CKD-EPI equation regarded as the “best overall index for kidney function,” accounts for the higher muscle mass observed in African Americans with a 15.9% increase in eGFR over that of their Caucasians counterparts [5]. For a patient with below-average muscle mass, such an increase could delay diagnosis of CKD and interventions against progression into ESRD. In later stages of the disease, a 15.9% increase could also mean that an African American patient becomes eligible for dialysis or a kidney transplant much later than a Caucasian patient with the same prognosis.
Contact us
Do you want to know more about Gentian's cystatin C immunoassay or cystatin C in general? Send an email to marketing@gentian.com or fill out the form below and our Product Manager for cystatin C will get in touch.
FAQ about cystatin C
What type of antibodies are used in Gentian’s Cystatin C Immunoassay?
What are the advantages of measuring cystatin C in addition to creatinine?
Which patient populations would benefit from cystatin C testing?
What type of assay is the Gentian Cystatin C Immunoassay?
References:
- Chronic Kidney Disease in the United States, 2019. (2019, March 11). Retrieved April 28, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/kidneydisease/publications-resources/2019-national-facts.html
- Shlipak MG et al. (2013). Cystatin C versus creatinine in determining risk based on kidney function. New England Journal of Medicine, 369(10), 932-943.
- Parsons T. (2013, September 4). Relationship of Kidney Function Estimates to Risk Improves by Measuring Cystatin C in the Blood. Retrieved April 6, 2020, from: https://www.jhsph.edu/news/news-releases/2013/coresh-cystatin-c.html
- HEALTHCARE, A. D. I. (2017). Chronic kidney disease in African Americans: Puzzle pieces are falling into place. Cleveland Clinic journal of medicine, 84(11), 855.
- Levey AS et al. (2009). A new equation to estimate glomerular filtration rate. Annals of internal medicine, 150(9), 604-612.
Gentian Cystatin C
Gentian’s cystatin C immunoassay was launched in 2006. It is a Particle-Enhanced Turbidimetric Immunoassay (PETIA) for in vitro testing of cystatin C in human plasma and serum samples. The test has documented high inter-instrument accuracy on a wide range of clinical chemistry analysers and can be performed in as little as 10 minutes.
