Potassium Supplementation in CKD (K+ in CKD)

February 10, 2026 updated by: Ewout Hoorn, Erasmus Medical Center

Renoprotective Effects of Potassium Supplementation in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

The current high-sodium, low-potassium diet contributes to the high prevalence of high blood pressure (hypertension). Indeed, the anti-hypertensive effects of potassium supplementation are well-established. Hypertension is even more prevalent and resistant in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and contributes to further decline in kidney function. Four recent epidemiological studies (published 2014 - 2016) showed that higher dietary potassium intake was associated with better renal outcomes. All studies recommended an intervention study with potassium supplementation in patients with CKD, but this has not been performed. The aim of this study is to study the renoprotective effect of potassium supplementation in patients with CKD (stage 3b or 4, i.e. estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] 15 - 45 ml/min/1.73 m2).

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
532

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Netherlands
      • Amsterdam, Netherlands
        • Academic Medical Center Amsterdam
      • Groningen, Netherlands
        • University Medical Center Groningen
      • Leiden, Netherlands
        • Leiden University Medical Center
      • Rotterdam, Netherlands
        • Erasmus MC

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • CKD 3b or 4 (45 - 15 ml/min/1.73 m2)
  • Δ eGFR (as estimated by the CKD-EPI equation) > 2 ml/min/1.73 m2/year (in preceding ≥ 1 year with at least 3 measurements)
  • Hypertension (defined as office blood pressure > 140/90 mmHg or use of anti-hypertensive medication)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Hyperkalemia (serum potassium > 5.5 mmol/l) at study visit V0
  • Medical reasons to continue dual RAAS-blockade, mineralocorticoid receptor blockers, potassium-sparing diuretics, or oral potassium binders.
  • Patients with previous history of ventricular cardiac arrhythmia
  • Patients with a life expectancy < 6 months
  • Expected initiation of renal replacement therapy < 2 years
  • Incapacitated subjects
  • Women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or consider pregnancy in the coming 2 years.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Dietary supplement: Placebo
Placebo
Experimental: Potassium Chloride
Experimental Arm 1 - Rationale is that most evidence for a positive effect of potassium comes from studies using potassium chloride
Dietary supplement: Potassium Chloride
Two potassium supplements with varying anions.
Experimental: Potassium Citrate
Experimental Arm 2 - Rationale for citrate is that recent evidence indicates that alkali treatment may also be renoprotective.
Dietary supplement: Potassium Citrate
Potassium Citrate

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Difference in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)
Time Frame: Two years
Two years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
≥ 30% decrease in eGFR
Time Frame: Two years
Two years
Slope analysis (change in eGFR in ml/min/1.73 m2/year)
Time Frame: Two years
Two years
Doubling in serum creatinine or end-stage renal disease
Time Frame: Two years
Two years
Progression to next CKD or albuminuria class
Time Frame: Two years
Two years
Ambulatory (24-hour) blood pressure
Time Frame: Two years
Two years
24-hour albuminuria
Time Frame: Two years
Two years
Cardiovascular event
Time Frame: Two years
Coronary heart disease death, fatal myocardial infarction, fatal stroke and other cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, unstable angina, resuscitated cardiac arrest
Two years
All-cause mortality
Time Frame: Two years
Two years
Incidence of hyperkalemia
Time Frame: Two years
Two years
NT-pro-BNP
Time Frame: Two years
Volume marker 1
Two years
Bioimpedance measures
Time Frame: Two years
Volume marker 2
Two years
Pulse-wave velocity
Time Frame: Two years
Cardiovascular marker 1
Two years
High-sensitive CRP
Time Frame: Two years
Cardiovascular marker 2
Two years

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Effects of 2-week KCl supplementation on plasma potassium (mmol/l)
Time Frame: Two weeks
Run-in outcome 1
Two weeks
Incidence of Hyperkalemia after 2-week KCl supplementation
Time Frame: Two weeks
Run-in outcome 2
Two weeks
Effects of 2-week KCl supplementation on office blood pressure (mmHg)
Time Frame: Two weeks
Run-in outcome 3
Two weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Erasmus Medical Center

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University Medical Center Groningen
Leiden University Medical Center
Dutch Kidney Foundation
Amsterdam UMC

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Ewout J Hoorn, MD, PhD, Erasmus Medical Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 1, 2017

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 15, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 16, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 17, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
February 12, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 10, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • NL60825.078.17
  • MEC-2017-226 (Other Identifier: ErasmusMC)
  • CP16.01 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Dutch Kidney Foundation)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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