Background and Aims

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) measurement in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) is the ideal method for adequate evaluation of kidney function. However, it is invasive, costly, and not widely accessible. Moreover, GFR estimation in patients with cirrhosis has been inaccurate. The aim of the present study was to evaluate and validate the recently described Royal Free Hospital (RFH) formula in a Hispanic cohort of patients with LC and compare it with other formulas, including the CKD-EPI cystatin C equation.

Methods

GFR was measured through the renal clearance of Tc-99m DTPA; it was cross-sectionally evaluated and compared with GFRs that were estimated utilizing the following formulas: RFH, Cockcroft-Gault, 6-variable Modification of Diet in Renal Disease-6, CKD-EPI cystatin C, CKD-EPI Creatinine, and CKD-EPI Cystatin C-Creatinine.

Results

We included 76 patients (53% women). The mean measured GFR in the entire cohort was 64 ml/min/1.73m2; 54% of the patients had a GFR < 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 at the time of evaluation. The RFH formula and the CKD-EPI cystatin C formula showed the best performance, with a p30 of 62% and 59%, respectively. All formulas performed poorly when GFR was < 60 ml/min/1.73 m2.

Conclusions

The RFH formula showed a better performance than the other formulas based on serum creatinine in a Hispanic population with LC. There was no difference in performance between the RFH formula and the CKD-EPI cystatin C formula.