New International Classification of Disease-10th Edition-Clinical Modification codes for APOL1-mediated kidney disease (AMKD) and family history of AMKD in the United States provide great hope to the millions of people with recent African ancestry and chronic kidney disease worldwide. In the past, vague diagnosis codes forced misclassification of many such patients, especially nondiabetic persons of African ancestry. The lack of an AMKD diagnosis in the US Renal Data System and international registries has had profound effects on public health, confusing the epidemiology of kidney failure and delaying research for more accurate diagnoses and treatments. With these codes, nephrologists and providers caring for patients with and at risk for chronic kidney disease must be vigilant to identify, genotype, and appropriately code patients with AMKD. We owe it to our patients and future generations in their families to detect AMKD at earlier stages. This will permit their enrollment into clinical trials that provide hope for a cure.
Freedman et al. (2026) studied this question.