KDIGO Guidelines: What They Are and How They Shape Kidney Care

When it comes to managing KDIGO guidelines, a global standard for kidney disease care developed by the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes organization. Also known as kidney disease clinical practice guidelines, they’re used by doctors from New York to Nairobi to decide how to test, treat, and monitor patients with kidney problems. These aren’t just suggestions—they’re the closest thing medicine has to a rulebook for kidney health.

KDIGO guidelines cover everything from how to spot early kidney damage using blood and urine tests, to when to start dialysis, and which drugs to avoid in people with weak kidneys. They’re built on real data from thousands of patients, not opinions. For example, they tell doctors exactly when to check creatinine levels, a key marker of kidney filtering ability, and how to adjust medication doses when kidney function drops. That’s why you’ll see them referenced in posts about cyclosporine monitoring, a drug that can harm kidneys if not carefully tracked, or why certain antibiotics are avoided in patients with chronic kidney disease, a long-term condition where kidneys slowly lose function.

These guidelines also explain why some treatments work better than others. Take perindopril erbumine, an ACE inhibitor often used in diabetics to protect the kidneys. KDIGO says it’s one of the few blood pressure drugs that actually slow kidney decline—not just lower numbers. That’s why it shows up in multiple posts here. Same goes for dexamethasone, a steroid sometimes used in kidney inflammation. KDIGO doesn’t recommend it for routine use, but it does give clear limits on when it might help, and when it’s too risky.

You’ll find that nearly every post here ties back to KDIGO in some way—whether it’s about avoiding drug interactions that hurt kidneys, adjusting doses after surgery, or choosing the safest painkillers for someone with low kidney function. These aren’t random articles. They’re practical answers to real questions doctors face every day, guided by KDIGO’s clear, science-backed rules.

What you’ll see below isn’t a list of random drug guides. It’s a collection of real-world applications of KDIGO’s framework—how it changes what pills you take, how often you get tested, and when to push back on a treatment that doesn’t fit the standard. If you or someone you know is managing kidney disease, these posts give you the tools to understand why certain choices are made—and what alternatives might be out there.