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Frequently Asked Questions
KidneyIntelX test is for patients with early stage diabetic kidney disease or DKD (stages 1 through 3). If you have Type 2 Diabetes and were previously diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, you should speak with your doctor to see if KidneyIntelX is right for you.
The KidneyIntelX test is ordered to help you and your doctor understand your risk for kidney function decline over the next 5 years. Your risk score can help you and your doctor discuss a plan to slow, or in some cases prevent progression of your disease.
KidneyIntelX is a simple blood test that measures three proteins associated with kidney function and injury. That information, combined with other data from your medical record, such as blood pressure and other substances in your blood are used to calculate your individual KidneyIntelX risk score.
4 out of 5 people who progress to kidney failure don’t have obvious symptoms. By having a better understanding of your individual risk for kidney disease progression, you and your doctor can decide whether you need to make any changes to your diabetes care plan.
About half of patients who get the test are expected to get a low risk result. For patients with an intermediate or high risk result, your doctor will use this added information to possibly introduce dietary changes, plan an exercise program, adjust your blood pressure medication and /or investigate other treatments to help protect your kidneys.
Your primary care doctor can order the KidneyIntelX test. An endocrinologist, cardiologist or nephrologist can also order the test.
A simple blood draw with results returned to your doctor in about 5 days.
No special preparation is required.
The risk score is your likelihood for experiencing a progressive decline in your kidney function. The following are explanations of the three reported risk groups:
Low Risk Result (5 to 45)
Most patients tested with KidneyIntelX will get a low risk result. A low risk score means you are in the 45% of the population of all patients with stages 1-3 DKD at lowest risk for kidney function decline. Clinical studies have shown that your individual risk of experiencing progression over the next 5 years is < 10%. On the test report these results are classified as “green” due to the low risk finding.
Based on prior studies, a low risk score predicts that you are less likely to have progressive decline of your kidney function. The low score suggests that you should maintain your current care level.
Intermediate Risk result (50-85)
Approximately 40% of all patients will get an intermediate risk score. This means you have approximately the same risk for kidney disease progression as the overall population of patients with stage 1-3 DKD. On the test report these results are classified as “orange” due to the intermediate risk finding.
Generally, an intermediate risk score indicates that you and your doctor should monitor your kidney health more frequently. This could include more frequent monitoring visits with additional blood work and possibly introducing some medications and or lifestyle changes.
High Risk Result (90 to 100)
Approximately 15% of patients will get a high-risk result which means that you have more than a 60% chance of having progressive decline in kidney function over the next 5 years.
Generally, a high-risk score means you and your doctor should act now to treat your kidney disease. Those actions could include more frequent monitoring visits, referral to a nephrologist, maximizing the dose of an ACE inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker and strongly consider treatment with an SGLT2 inhibitor (unless contraindicated).
The KidneyIntelX test report will be sent back to your doctor and should be available in about 5 business days.
For Mount Sinai patients, your test result will be available through MyChart. For Mount Sinai patients without MyChart access, results will be available through a secure email message.
If you have questions about your test result, please call your doctor’s office. You can also reach Renalytix AI Client Services at 888-203-2725 during normal business hours