Screening for chronic kidney disease in community pharmacy: Crierfac project.

Objectives: To evaluate the outcomes of chronic kidney disease (CKD) screening in community pharmacies through creatinine measurement and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimation in patients meeting specific risk criteria.

Methods: This was a multicenter observational study. People who entered participating pharmacies for any reason and met the inclusion criterion of not having a CKD diagnosis were invited to participate in the study. If they agreed, the pharmacist conducted a point-of-care blood creatinine test, and the GFR was calculated using the CKD-EPI formula. Those with a positive CKD indicator (<45 ml/min/1.73 m2) were referred to their general practitioner (GP) for evaluation. People with a GFR > 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 were not considered to have CKD. Those with a GFR between 45 and 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 were asked to return for reassessment 1 month later. Those with a GFR 45 < ml/min/1.73 m2 were then considered CKD-positive and referred to the GP. All the data were recorded by the pharmacist.

Key findings: One hundred and forty-one community pharmacies from 40 provinces of Spain enrolled 2116 patients. In the first analysis, 1428 (67.5%) were negative, 165 (7.8%) were positive, and 523 (24.7%) needed a second analysis. In the second analysis, 164 (7.8%) were negative, 243 (11.5%) were positive, and 116 (5.5%) did not reattend. In summary, by intention to treat, 1592 (75.2%) were negative and 408 (19.3%) tested positive and were referred to their GP.

Conclusions: The results of CKD detection in community pharmacies are in line with screening in other healthcare settings, confirming they could be a reliable resource in future population-screening strategies.