Are you ready to accompany autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease patients in their treatment journey? Real practice for selecting rapid progressors and treatment with tolvaptan

Abstract

Tolvaptan treatment is costly, often accompanied by aquaresis-related adverse events, and requires careful monitoring by medical staff due to the possibility of hepatotoxicity. Nevertheless, it is the only disease-modifying drug to date that has been shown to successfully delay renal replacement therapy. For more patients to receive proper treatment, medical doctors, the rest of the medical team, and the patient must all work together. This paper reviews parameters that can help identify rapid autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease progressors, who are the target of tolvaptan therapy. It is expected that these parameters will help nephrologists learn practical prescription methods and identify patients who can benefit from tolvaptan treatment. Although several strategies can be used to find rapid progressors, the present review focuses on a practical method to identify rapid progressors according to the presence or absence of evidence and the factors associated with rapid progression based on the Mayo image classification.