Abstract
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is defined as a relevant excretion of albumin into the urine or a reduction of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) over a longer time period of ≥ 3 months. The causes of CKD are manifold, whereby the association with diabetes mellitus is the most frequent cause. Early stages of CKD affect approximately 10% of the total population. The frequency of cardiovascular events, the risk of dependency on dialysis and the all-cause mortality increase exponentially with a decrease in the GFR and an increase in albuminuria. The guidelines of the German College of General Practitioners and Family Physicians (DEGAM) and the organization Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) recommend referral to a nephrologist with a GFR of ≤ 30 or ≤ 60 ml/min/1.73 m(2) in the presence of various cofactors. This means that the majority of CKD patients are treated by general internists or general practitioners. This article gives a concise summary of current data on the treatment of CKD and its associated complications in clinical practice. It refers to the current guidelines and also new study results which could perspectively expand the therapeutic repertoire.