Hope for those with kidney disease as NHS offers more home tests
AT-HOME tests that check for signs of chronic kidney disease could save hundreds of lives and will be rolled out by thousands of NHS GPs.
More than 160,000 at-risk patients, aged between 18 and 105 have used the test, and approximately 28,000 hidden cases of chronic kidney disease have been detected.
Doctors identify kidney disease via albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR) tests.
Under normal care, a patient collects a urine sample at home and then takes it back to the GP for analysis.
High-risk patients, such as those with diabetes, are recommended to undergo a yearly test to pick up early signs, but estimates suggest less than half of patients complete one.
The Minuteful Kidney test enables patients to take the test at home, via a kit delivered to their door.
It includes a standard dipstick test and patented colour board. After completing the test, patients use an app to scan the dipstick on the board using their smartphone camera.
An artificial intelligence algorithm then reads the results and sends them in real-time directly to the patient’s GP.
Healthy.io, the firm behind the test, said the 28,000 cases will translate to 488 deaths prevented over the next five years, saving the NHS £110.9million.
About 800 GP practices in the UK are already using the service through NHS England’s AI in Health and Care Award in late 2020. It is now working with the Accelerated Access Collaborative to roll out the tests to almost 2,000 GP surgeries and more than 640,000 patients.
Chronic kidney disease accounts for an estimated 40,000 deaths a year in England, with those over 50-years-old, with diabetes or high blood pressure most at risk.
About one in 10 people in the UK suffer from chronic kidney disease, which causes the kidney function to gradually decline. Early cases of the disease are hard to spot, but can be picked up using the ACR tests.
Dr Becky Prince, GP Partner at Snodland Medical Practice, NHS Kent and Medway, said that the service has enabled them to engage with “harder to reach patients” and is increasing uptake of ACR testing.
Dr Pravin Jayakumar, Clinical CoDirector, Trinity Health Group, West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership, said: “Historically, it has been difficult to encourage diabetic patients to bring urine samples to the practice for this to be tested for proteinuria.”
He added that the service has helped reach patients who have been reluctant to come forward because of Covid.
A YouGov poll by Healthy.io found only 20 per cent of respondents knew that chronic kidney disease was a risk factor for developing heart disease.