There are far less data in CKD patients to inform the best approach. In RCTs involving CKD patients who are randomized to different BP targets, the achieved differences between groups are usually less than the targeted differences. Intention-to-treat analyses allow con- clusions to be drawn based on target BP levels rather than achieved BP levels. The Work Group generally followed this convention and based recommendations on target levels BP levels rather than those achieved in the RCTs. It also considered the evidence derived from RCTs in which patients were not randomized to BP targets but achieved BPs were reported. The logic for using target BP levels in RCTs rather than the achieved BP levels observed as the basis for setting guideline targets has been questioned;22 this concern is one reason for our conservative approach to BP target setting in this Guideline. Outcomes The major outcomes relevant to BP control in CKD patients are kidney disease progression and cardiovascular events (including stroke). Kidney outcomes. Although it is possible for a diagnosis of CKD to be made in an individual with a normal GFR and AER and even a normal BP (for example on the basis of an imaging study, as in early adult polycystic kidney disease), most patients recruited into RCTs addressing BP and its management in CKD have a reduced GFR or persistently elevated albumin excretion. Entry criteria for RCTs involving Table 1 | Relationship among categories for albuminuria and proteinuriaa Categories Measure Normal to mildly increased Moderately increased Severely increased ACR PCR Protein reagent strip Negative to trace Trace to + + or greater ACR, albumin/creatinine ratio; AER, albumin excretion rate; PCR, protein/creatinine ratio, PER, protein excretion rate. 