Abstract
Objective: Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common inherited renal disease. Approximately 50% of the affected patients suffer end-stage renal failure, requiring dialysis. In recent years, ADPKD has gained substantial attention due to advances in its treatment and its coverage by the financial aid system for treatment of intractable diseases in Japan. In this study, we evaluated the current status of patients with ADPKD undergoing health check-up at our facilities and examined the validity of the screening method.
Methods: In total, 47,383 individuals who underwent health check-up at our facilities between April 2017 and March 2018 were screened using abdominal ultrasonography focusing on the number of renal cysts. Individuals in whom ADPKD was suspected were interviewed further and advised to undergo close examination, the results of which were analyzed.
Results: Among the study subjects, the prevalence rate of ADPKD was 68–137 per 100,000 population, and the positive predictive value of our screening method was 36.2%. Among the newly diagnosed ADPKD patients, only 11.8% had renal ultrasonographic findings that required close examination according to the current Abdominal Ultrasonographic Screening Manual, which does not include number of renal cysts as a standard criterion.
Conclusions: The prevalence rate of ADPKD was considerably higher than that previously reported in Japan (≈25 per 100,000 population), suggesting a high number of undiagnosed cases. ADPKD may be detected and treated at early stages by screening based on the number of renal cysts.
