Efficacy of Long-Term Treatment With Tolvaptan to Prolong the Time Until Dialysis Initiation in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease and Heart Failure.

Abstract

The short-term effectiveness of tolvaptan (TLV) against heart failure has been established. TLV is known to decrease the worsening of renal function more than loop diuretics. Long-term TLV administration decreases the rate of re-hospitalization in heart failure and prevents deterioration of kidney function. If repeated hospitalization for heart failure can be prevented in patients having concurrent chronic kidney disease (CKD), the period until dialysis initiation may be prolonged. We investigated whether long-term TLV management can extend the period until dialysis initiation in patients with CKD and heart failure. A retrospective, observational study was conducted among patients with CKD stage G4 and G5 admitted because of heart failure between April 2013 and July 2018. They were divided into those with TLV and those without TLV. They were followed up until August 2018 and relevant data was collected. Data from 115 patients (68 men and 47 women), with a mean age of 73.4 ± 11.9 (median 76.0 and IQR 66.5-82.0) years and a mean eGFR of 11.8 ± 5.7 (median 9.9 and IQR 7.5-14.8) mL/min/1.73m2 were included in the analysis. Twenty-five patients had received long-term TLV treatment, and 90 had not. Multivariate analysis after adjustment showed that long-term use of TLV significantly lowered the hazard ratio (HR) for time taken to reach dialysis initiation (HR: 0.3286, 95%CI: 0.1282-0.8423, P = 0.0205). Propensity score-matched analysis showed similar results (HR: 0.3220, 95%CI: 0.1107-0.9369, P = 0.0376). In patients with CKD G4 and G5 and heart failure, long-term treatment with TLV can prolong the time until dialysis initiation.