Strengths and limitations
heart failure, CKD
HEART FAILURE
Major strengths of the current analysis are the large number of patients and the good quality of the data recorded in the DPV/DIVE databases. Nonetheless, not all information pertinent to the RCT selection criteria were available for all patients. For example, during the initial search in the entire DPV/DIVE database (n = 718,138), 102,439 patients did not have an eGFR value available (vs. 51,540 who were recorded as having no CKD), and it is possible that some of these patients might have been suitable for inclusion in the analysis if these data had been available. Furthermore, we were not able to discriminate heart failure with or without preserved ejection fraction and, as such, we were not able to fully resemble the trial inclusion and exclusion criteria in this regard. Finally, the clinical effectiveness of finerenone and its safety in clinical practice could not be evaluated as it was not registered at the time of the analysis. It should be kept in mind that p-values are based on large patient numbers and not all significant differences may have clinical relevancy.