‘Excellent outcome’: New diabetic CKD drug option for GPs
Monitor serum potassium a month after patients start finerenone, recommends a leading nephrologist.
GPs can now prescribe finerenone under the PBS to prevent worsening kidney function in adults with chronic kidney disease caused by type 2 diabetes.
More than 26,000 patients with diabetic chronic kidney disease (CKD) who are still at risk of declining renal function despite first-line therapy are expected to benefit from the new listing, which went live on 1 July.
Eligible patients must have had abnormal kidney structure or function for at least three months, an eGFR of ≥25mL/min/1.73m3 and a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio of ≥200mg/g.
They should also be treated with an SGLT-2 inhibitor and a renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system blocker before starting on finerenone (Kerendia) unless medically contraindicated.
