Effect of an Oral Adsorbent, AST-120, on Dialysis Initiation and Survival in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Shingo Hatakeyama,¹ Hayato Yamamoto,² Akiko Okamoto,³ Kengo Imanishi,³ Noriko Tokui,² Teppei Okamoto,² Yuichiro Suzuki,² Naoaki Sugiyama,² Atsushi Imai,²Shigemasa Kudo,² Takahiro Yoneyama,² Yasuhiro Hashimoto,³ Takuya Koie,² Noritaka Kaminura,²Hisao Saitoh,³ Tomihisa Funyu,³ and Chikara Ohyama^1,2

^{Department of Advanced Transplant and Regenerative Medicine, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, 5 Zaifu-chou, Hirosaki 036-8562, Japan
2Department of Urology, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki 036-8562, Japan
3Department of Urology, Oyokyo Kidney Research Institute, Hirosaki 036-8243, Japan}

International Journal of Nephrology
Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 376128, 8 pages
doi:10.1155/2012/376128

^Abstract

The oral adsorbent AST-120 has the potential to delay dialysis initiation and improve survival of patients on dialysis. We evaluated the effect of AST-120 on dialysis initiation and its potential to improve survival in patients with chronic kidney disease. 

The present retrospective pair-matched study included 560 patients, grouped according to whether or not they received AST-120 before dialysis (AST-120 and non-AST-120 groups). The cumulative dialysis initiation free rate and survival rate were compared by the Kaplan-Meier method. 

Multivariate analysis was used to determine the impact of AST-120 on dialysis initiation. Our results showed significant differences in the 12- and 24-month dialysis initiation free rate (), although no significant difference was observed in the survival rate between the two groups. 

In conclusion, AST-120 delays dialysis initiation in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients but has no effect on survival. AST-120 is an effective therapy for delaying the progression of CKD.