What considerations were taken into account by the Work Group when assessing the evidence regarding renal replacement therapy or death due to kidney failure?
The Work Group took into account that a drug may modify GFR via a mechanism that does not directly involve changes in systemic BP and the impact of this effect on the patient may vary according to CKD stage. They viewed consistency in the change of GFR outcomes across various CKD stages as a strong indicator of the benefits of a particular agent on kidney function, as well as the level of albuminuria in CKD, which predicts not only the prognosis with respect to kidney function but also morbidity and mortality from CVD events including Urinary albumin excretion, which is influenced by BP and by many of the agents used to reduce BP, particularly ACE-Is and ARBs. 