Accuracy of the methods used to estimate glomerular filtration rate compared to 24-hour urinary creatinine clearance in patients with chronic spinal cord injury

Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) are vulnerable to renal deterioration and urinary tract complications, which are reported to constitute the primary cause of death in these patients. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) has been traditionally considered the best measure of renal function, several factors limit the accuracy of the GFR estimation through the creatinine levels in SCI patients. The purpose of the present study is to compare the accuracy of GFR estimation by 24-hour urinary creatinine clearance with GFR estimation by the MDRD, the CKD-EPI, the MCQE, and the modified Cockcroft–Gault formula in patients with SCI.

• 1
  GFRs calculated by the Cockcroft–Gault equation and 4-variable MDRD were significantly different from the 24-hour urinary creatinine clearance.
• 2
  There were no significant differences in GFRs calculated by CKD-EPI (P = 1.000), Mayo Clinic Quadratic formula (P = 0.794), and 6-variable MDRD equations (P = 0.435) and 24-hour urinary creatinine clearance.
• 3
  Both the 6-variable MDRD equation and CKD-EPI were accurate within ±20 of the reference method in 52.54% of the subjects.