Medication safety principles and practice in CKD

Abstract

Ensuring patient safety is a priority of medical care because iatrogenic injury has been a primary concern. Medications are an important source ofmedical errors, and kidney disease is a thoroughfare of factors threatening safe administration of medicines. Principal among these is reduced kidney function because almost half of all medications used are eliminated via the kidney. Additionally, kidney patients often suffer from multimorbidity, including diabetes, hypertension, and heart failure, with a range of prescribers who often do not coordinate treatments. Patients with kidney disease are also susceptible to further kidney injury andmetabolic derangements from medications, which can worsen the disease. In this review, we will present the key issues and threats to safe medication use in kidney disease, with a focus on predialysis CKD, as the scope of medication safety in ESKD and transplantation are unique and deserve their own consideration. We discuss drugs that need to be avoided or dose modified, and reviewthe complications of a range ofmedications routinely administered in CKD, as these also call for cautious use.