The esCapeKD Cohort Study:

Prospective Cohort Study of Children with Chronic Kidney Disease

Childhood-onset chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive condition that significantly impacts health and quality of life. Affected children face specific challenges, such as impaired growth, compromised psychosocial integration and accelerated cardiovascular morbidity increasing the risk of early mortality.   

In the past decades, pediatric nephrologists have learned a lot about disease mechanisms and complications of CKD in children and have developed strategies to slow disease progression and mitigate the impact of secondary complications of CKD. However, many questions remain unresolved and require further study by prospective follow-up of large patient cohorts. To that end, the ESCAPE Network and the European Rare Kidney Disease Network (ERKNet) will join forces in establishing a large European pediatric CKD cohort study.  

The esCapeKD study will prospectively collect clinical data and biomaterials from a large number of children with CKD to:

• Provide real-world data regarding the evolution of CKD under the current standards of care.
• Support research into new risk markers of CKD progression in children.
• Facilitate patient access to clinical trials of innovative therapies.
• Improve CKD treatment outcomes through continuous center monitoring and benchmarking.

It is aimed that up to 1,000 children with CKD in up to 24 European countries will be enrolled in this open-ended study.