New York, New York (January 2008) – Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) elected Kai-Uwe Eckardt, MD its new co-chair. Dr. Eckardt is Professor of Medicine and Chief of Nephrology and Hypertension at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. KDIGO, a global non-profit foundation managed by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), is dedicated to improving the care and outcomes of kidney disease patients worldwide through promoting coordination, collaboration, and integration of initiatives to develop and implement clinical practices guidelines.
Dr. Eckardt succeeds Norbert Lameire MD, the founding co-chair of KDIGO since 2003, who completed his term in December 2007. “Norbert was one of the first to see the potential of creating global guidelines in nephrology. His vision, leadership, and dedication were instrumental in guiding KDIGO to achieve consensus on the best methods for producing evidence-based guidelines, and to initiate work on global guidelines on clinically relevant issues to CKD patients such as the prevention and treatment of hepatitis C infection, mineral and bone disorders, and the care of the kidney transplant recipient,” said Dr. Garabed Eknoyan, co-chair of KDIGO.
As KDIGO co-chair, Dr. Eckardt will provide guidance to the KDIGO staff, work group members and volunteers involved in the development, dissemination and implementation of KDIGO clinical practice guidelines. “We are honored to have Dr. Eckardt’s leadership as KDIGO grows,” said John Davis, CEO of NKF. “He offers knowledge and experience from his participation in both KDOQI and EBPG guideline work groups.”
Dr. Eckardt said, “In the brief time since KDIGO was conceived, it has made significant progress in uniting the global nephrology community to improve the care and outcomes of kidney disease patients. This has been possible because of the shared vision, hard work and commitment of the KDIGO Board of Directors. As co-chair, it is a great opportunity to build on past accomplishments and to explore new ways to expand the mission of KDIGO in improving outcomes for CKD patients worldwide.”
Dr. Eckardt will serve alongside current KDIGO co-chair, Dr. Garabed Eknoyan, Professor of Medicine at Baylor College in Houston.
About KDIGO
KDIGO, a global non-profit foundation managed by the National Kidney Foundation, was established in 2003 as an independently incorporated, non-profit foundation governed by an international Board of Directors with the stated mission to improve the care and outcomes of kidney disease patients worldwide by promoting coordination, collaboration, and integration of initiatives to develop and implement clinical practice guidelines.
Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines developed with an international perspective are KDIGO’s primary focus. KDIGO Clinical Practice Guidelines will be published in Kidney International and posted on the KDIGO website (www.kdigo.org).
Upcoming KDIGO guidelines include: Prevention, Diagnosis, Evaluation and Treatment of Hepatitis C in Chronic Kidney Disease; Diagnosis, Evaluation, Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Kidney Disease Related Mineral and Bone Disorders (CKD-MBD); Care of the Kidney Transplant Recipient; and Acute Kidney Injury. KDIGO Guidelines will be translated into several languages such as: Spanish, French, Italian, German, Mandarin, Japanese, Turkish, Russian and Arabic.
The KDIGO website offers extensive summary tables of other international guideline groups’ clinical practice guidelines on nephrology. The site is open to the public, interactive and searchable, and facilitates comparison of current guidelines.
