An evidence framework for protecting kidney function
People who have chronic kidney disease are at substantially increased risk of heart disease and needing dialysis treatment. Blood pressure lowering treatment protects kidney function and improves health for kidney disease patients. However, numerous different medications are available to lower blood pressure and research methods have previously only enabled us to compare one treatment directly with another or placebo. This can make it difficult to determine the best treatment overall when many are available. In addition, the number of different clinical trials also makes it difficult for clinicians, consumers, and policy-makers to use information from research efficiently and reliably to make decisions. Network meta-analysis is a powerful new technique that can integrate data from all available trials of blood-pressure lowering treatments in kidney disease within a single evidence scaffold to rank the effectiveness and acceptability of all treatment options. We will conduct a network meta-analysis of randomised trials that assess blood pressure lowering strategies for people who have chronic kidney disease to provide a unified and coherent overview of the information available to guide care. This evidence structure will help clinicians and consumers use the available information to improve collaborative decision-making.