Trial reportQuality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation2026
Longitudinal impact of sodium bicarbonate therapy on health-related quality of life in pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease with metabolic acidosis: a pragmatic trial in Malaysia.
Trial report in Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeMetabolic acidosis (MA) is a complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is associated with adverse clinical outcomes. This study evaluated longitudinal changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among pre-dialysis CKD patients with MA following initiation of sodium bicarbonate therapy.
methodsIn this 18-month, single-centre, open-label, pragmatic trial, 74 adults with stage 3-4 CKD and MA (serum bicarbonate < 22 mmol/L) were allocated in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive oral sodium bicarbonate (tablets or solution) or standard care (control). HRQoL was assessed using the KDQOL-36 and EQ-VAS instruments. Longitudinal HRQoL trajectories and the effects of treatment and disease progression were evaluated using multivariable linear mixed-effects models.
resultsBaseline physical health was impaired across the cohort, with the Burden subscale scoring the lowest. Sodium bicarbonate increased serum bicarbonate levels during early titration, although only one-third of treated patients achieved the target range of 22-26 mmol/L. Neither sodium bicarbonate formulation significantly improved KDQOL-36 subscale or EQ-VAS scores compared with control. However, worsening CKD stage was significantly associated with lower HRQoL, with clinically meaningful declines observed in the KDQOL-36 Effects and Burden subscales. No significant differences were observed between treatment arms in blood pressure, body weight, or all-cause hospitalisations. Gastrointestinal symptoms and peripheral oedema were common among treated patients but were not significantly associated with HRQoL.
conclusionSodium bicarbonate therapy did not improve HRQoL in pre-dialysis CKD patients with MA. Patient-reported well-being appeared to be driven by CKD progression, highlighting the practical challenges and limitations of treat-to-target alkali therapy in routine clinical practice.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42801387What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.