To explore the application of serum creatinine (Scr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and interleukin-21 (IL-21) in the efficacy evaluation of elderly patients with stage 2-3 chronic kidney disease.

A total of 168 elderly patients with chronic kidney disease admitted to Huangshi Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital from January 2020 to February 2022 were selected. After 3 months of systematic and standardized treatment, the clinical efficacy was evaluated. At the same time, fasting venous blood samples were collected from patients in the morning to measure serum levels. The expression levels of Scr, BUN, IL-21 and their clinical significance were compared and analyzed in patients with different therapeutic effects. Analysis of variance was used to compared the measurement data, Chi-square test was used to compared the count data, and multiple linear regression was usd to analyzed the correlation.

Out of 168 elderly CKD patients treated, 47 were cured, 84 showed significant improvement, 31 were effective, and 16 were ineffective. There were statistically significant differences in CKD staging, disease type, duration, and Scr, BUN, and IL-21 levels among elderly CKD patients with different clinical efficacy (χ²=33.253, 25.465; F=2.924, 17.738, 12.947, 7.374; P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that high disease staging and high levels of Scr, BUN, and IL-21 were risk factors for clinical efficacy in elderly CKD patients (t=-5.270, -4.010, -4.615, -3.278; P < 0.01).

There are significant differences in the expression levels of Scr, BUN, and IL-21 among elderly CKD patients with different clinical efficacy, which can serve as auxiliary indicators for clinical efficacy evaluation.