Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30732506›Full record

ReviewRenal failure2019

Review of the efficacy of AST-120 (KREMEZIN

Mayumi Asai, Sei Kumakura, Mami Kikuchi

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC
In one paragraph

Review in Renal failure, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
55citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
6.9field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
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

55 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 87 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  9. Effect of Spherical Adsorptive Carbon Among Chronic Kidney Disease Patients: A Nationwide Cohort Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Article
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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

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Mayumi Asaia Kureha Corporation , Tokyo , Japan.
Sei Kumakuraa Kureha Corporation , Tokyo , Japan.
Mami Kikuchia Kureha Corporation , Tokyo , Japan.
Kureha (Japan) · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

AST-120 (KREMEZIN®) consists of oral, spherical carbon particles that adsorb uremic toxins and their precursors within the gastrointestinal tract, allowing them to be excreted in the feces. Uremic toxins such as indoxyl sulfate and p-cresyl sulfate are abundant in the blood of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients and are related to the progression of both CKD and cardiovascular disease. AST-120 was approved in Japan in 1991 followed by Korea (2004), Taiwan (2007) and the Philippines (2010) for treating uremic symptoms and prolonging the time to initiation of dialysis in patients with progressive CKD. In this review, we provide an overview of the past clinical data on AST-120 from 1982 to 2013. The effect of AST-120 for renal events was not supported in the primary analysis of randomized clinical trials. However, post-hoc analyses revealed significant differences between the AST-120 and control groups in the second Japanese phase III trial and in the multinational Evaluating Prevention of Progression in CKD (EPPIC) trials. Furthermore, inhibitory effects on the progression of CKD, as represented by amelioration in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline and serum creatinine (sCr) elevation were suggested. These results suggest that AST-120 delays the decline in renal function. In addition, AST-120 may prolong the time to the initiation of dialysis, especially in patients with progressive CKD. For further verification of the clinical efficacy of AST-120, future study inclusion criteria should be determined carefully, defining progressive CKD using markers such as declines in eGFR and sCr elevation.

Indexed as

AdsorptionBiomarkersCarbonCreatinineDisease ProgressionGlomerular Filtration RateHumansIntestinal AbsorptionKidneyOxidesRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicRenal DialysisRenal Insufficiency, ChronicSequestering AgentsTime FactorsToxins, BiologicalAST 120BiomarkersCarbonCreatinineOxidesSequestering AgentsToxins, BiologicalAST-120CKDclinical trialspherical carbon adsorbenturemic toxin

Identifiers

PMID30732506
PMCPMC6374968
OpenAlexW2911360068

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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 OpenQuestion graph.