CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Severe heart failure is highly associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Serum creatinine is a poor indicator of renal function and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimation is an accessible method for assessing renal function. The most popular formulas for GFR estimation are the Cockcroft-Gault (CG), the four-variable Simplified Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (sMDRD) and the recently introduced CKD-Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI). The objective of the study was to analyze the correlation between these three equations for estimating GFR in patients with severe heart failure. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional observational study at a university reference center. METHODS: GFR was estimated in patients with severe heart failure who were awaiting heart transplantation, using the CG, sMDRD and CKD-EPI formulas. These estimates were analyzed using Pearson's correlation and Bland-Altman analysis.RESULTS: This study included 157 patients, of whom 32 (20.3%) were female. Normal serum creatinine concentration was observed in 21.6%. The mean GFR according to CG, sMDRD and CKD-EPI was 70.1 ± 29.5, 70.7 ± 37.5 and 73.7 ± 30.1 ml/min/1.73 m 2 ; P ≥ 0.05. Pearson's coefficient demonstrated good correlations between all the formulas, as did Bland-Altman. However, the patients presented GFR < 60 ml/ min more frequently with the sMDRD formula (54.1% versus 40.2% for CG and 43.2% for CKD-EPI; P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Despite the good correlation and agreement between the three methods, the sMDRD formula classified more patients as presenting GFR less than 60 ml/min.
RESUMOCONTEXTO E OBJETIVO: Insuficiência cardíaca grave tem elevada correlação com doença renal crôni-ca. Creatinina sérica é um indicador pobre da função renal e a estimativa da taxa de filtração glomerular (TFG) é um método acessível para avaliar a função renal. As fórmulas mais populares estimadoras da TFG são a Cockcroft-Gault (CG), a modificação de dieta simplificada em doença renal (Simplified Modification of Diet in Renal Disease, sMDRD) com quatro variáveis, e a recentemente introduzida Colaboração Epidemiológica na Doença Renal Crônica (Chronic Kidney Disease-Epidemiology Collaboration, CKD--EPI). O objetivo foi analisar a correlação entre essas três equações estimadoras da TFG em pacientes com insuficiência cardíaca grave. ; P ≥ 0,05. Coeficiente de Pearson mostrou boa correlação entre todas as fór-mulas, assim como Bland-Altman. Entretanto, os pacientes apresentaram TFG < 60 ml/min mais frequentemente com a fórmula sMDRD (54,1% versus 40,2% para CG e 43,2% para CKD-EPI; P = 0,02). CONCLUSÃO: Apesar da boa correlação e concordância entre os três métodos, a fórmula do sMDRD classificou mais pacientes com TFG menor que 60 ml/min.