Evidence mapPaperPMID 24711640Full record

ReviewPeritoneal dialysis international : journal of the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis2014

Metformin in chronic kidney disease: time for a rethink.

James Heaf

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Peritoneal dialysis international : journal of the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Endothelial dysfunction in chronic kidney disease: a clinical perspective.American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology · 2025
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Observational
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Iraqi Experts Consensus on the Management of Type 2 Diabetes/Prediabetes in Adults.Clinical medicine insights. Endocrinology and diabetes · 2020
    Review
  15. Article
  16. Monitoring Patients on Metformin: Recent Changes and Rationales.The Journal of pharmacy technology : jPT : official publication of the Association of Pharmacy Technicians · 2018
    Review
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Metformin and patients on dialysis.Australian prescriber · 2016
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author.

James HeafDepartment of Nephrology, Herlev Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Metformin has traditionally been regarded as contraindicated in chronic kidney disease (CKD), though guidelines in recent years have been relaxed to permit therapy if the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is > 30 mL/min. The main problem is the perceived risk of lactic acidosis (LA). Epidemiological evidence suggests that this fear is disproportionate. Lactic acidosis is a rare complication to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), with an incidence of 6/100,000 patient-years. The risk is not increased in metformin-treated patients. Metformin possesses a number of clinical effects independent of glucose reduction, including weight loss, which are beneficial to patients. The risk of death and cardiovascular disease is reduced by about a third in non-CKD patients. Since metformin intoxication undoubtedly causes LA, and metformin is renally excreted, inappropriate dosage of metformin will increase the risk of LA. It is suggested that introduction of metformin therapy to more advanced stages of CKD may bring therapeutic benefits that outweigh the possible risks.

Indexed as

Acidosis, LacticContraindicationsDiabetes Mellitus, Type 2HumansHypoglycemic AgentsMetforminRenal Insufficiency, ChronicRiskHypoglycemic AgentsMetforminchronic kidney diseasediabetes mellituslactic acidosisMetformin

Identifiers

PMID24711640
PMCPMC4079480

What Socratic holds

Texttitle and abstract
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.