A scientific task force on [September 23] called for jettisoning a common measure of kidney function that adjusts results by race, providing different assessments for Black patients than for others.
The adjustment may make Black patients seem less ill than they really are, according to many experts. Instead, doctors should rely on a race-neutral method for diagnosing and managing kidney disease, concluded a report from the National Kidney Foundation and the American Society of Nephrology.
The specific equation recommended was described in a study published [September 23] in the New England Journal of Medicine.
If adopted, the new approach would affect hundreds of millions of kidney function tests performed yearly in hospitals and outpatient settings, both for acutely ill patients and as part of routine screening blood tests. By one estimate, one million Black Americans might be treated earlier for kidney disease if the diagnostic equation were not adjusted for race.
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“The issue is a moral issue,” said Dr. Neil R. Powe, co-chair of the task force and chief of medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center. “It is time to remove race from the equation.”
