Every March 10, World Kidney Day is commemorated and, from the Argentine Society of Nephrology (SAN), they warned about Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), which affects – to some degree – one in every 8 inhabitants of the country and that, Although it is easy to diagnose, it is usually detected late.
According to the Second National Nutrition and Health Survey - ENNyS 2 (2018-2019), 4,092,598 adults live with CKD , an incidence similar to that of diabetes. Although this is a disease that is little talked about and known about in the general population, which undermines its detection in early stages, when most serious complications such as the development of cardiovascular disease can be avoided, the need to enter into dialysis or a kidney transplant.
This happens, in part, because the evolution of this disease is usually asymptomatic: in fact, only 1 in 10 affected people know their diagnosis. When symptoms occur, CKD is usually advanced and includes nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue and weakness, sleep problems, change in the amount of urine, decreased mental acuity, muscle twitches and cramps, swelling of the feet and ankles, constant itching, chest pain, shortness of breath and hypertension that is difficult to control.
“The majority of patients with kidney disease are usually not recognized at the first level of care, but rather receive the diagnosis once they are referred to a specialist and when the damage is already established,” warned Dr. Augusto Vallejos, Coordinator of the Comprehensive Approach to Kidney Diseases Program of the National Ministry of Health. “In this sense, efforts are being made to train the first level of care with specific courses and improve access to diagnostic methods, generating documents to improve the quality of care and developing a Federal Telenephrology program in order to facilitate the consultation of the doctor close to the specialist,” he added.
In turn, Dr. Guillermo Rosa Diez , nephrologist and president of the Argentine Society of Nephrology, explained that among other issues, it was agreed which is the best equation to determine the Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR), considered the best index to evaluate kidney function. in clinical practice.
Rosa Diez highlighted the importance of patients themselves asking their doctors to know how their kidney function is. He highlighted: “When you receive the order for a complete laboratory analysis, you should keep in mind that it is an opportunity to measure creatinine in the blood and a complete urine test. Both studies are very simple and low-cost, but very important. Having a high blood creatinine value is as important an indicator for CKD as the glycemic index is for diabetes or cholesterol for cardiovascular disease.”
The individuals most at risk of having CKD are those who have:
•Arterial hypertension
•Diabetes
•Obesity
Among pediatric patients, the following should be monitored:
• Those who have repeated urinary infections
•Those who have hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS)
Other risk factors:
•Family history of kidney disease
•Excessive use of painkillers
