POS-2026-3016 : DEPILL-CKD_ DEPrescribing In people Living with advanced Chronic Kidney Disease – understanding patterns and outcomes

Background

In the UK, over 400,000 adults live with advanced (stage 4 or 5) kidney disease. Most also live with other long-term health conditions and take many medicines (polypharmacy) – on average, more than eight medicines each day, and one hundred tablets each week.

Polypharmacy can sometimes cause harm, particularly in people with kidney disease. When kidneys work less well, medicines can build up in the body and cause unexpected side effects. Each year, one in five people living with advanced kidney disease experiences medication-related harm.

One potential way of reducing this harm is by deprescribing – carefully reducing or stopping medicines when they are no longer needed or causing harm. However, we do not currently know enough about which medicines can be safely deprescribed, and when.

Aim

This study aims to find out the current patterns of deprescribing for people living with advanced kidney disease in England, and whether deprescribing medications is safe and effective.

Methods

We will use anonymous GP health records from across England to study:

1. How often common medicines are stopped

2. Whether deprescribing is safe and effective by comparing people who stop a medicine to those who do not.

Deprescribing of non-specialist medicines is often led by GPs and their teams. Using GP records allows almost everyone with advanced kidney disease to contribute safely, making the findings widely relevant.

Patient and public involvement

A 10-member patient group, including people of different ages, sexes and ethnicities, will meet regularly throughout the study. They will help ensure the research remains relevant to patients and support sharing the results widely.

Impact

Results of this study will help inform future guidance that helps patients and healthcare professionals feel more confident about when medicines can be safely stopped. This will help to reduce medication-related harm for individuals and the NHS.