Medical experts give measure to chronic kidney disease treatment

LUDHIANA: The rise of diabetes and hypertension leading to higher number of chronic kidney failure diseases among citizens were the among the major issues discussed by the doctors of nephrology department during an education meets at a private city hospital here on Sunday.
More than 100 dialysis technicians from all over Punjab and neighbouring states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir attending the state-level workshop to create awareness among about the disease among citizens.

Speaking on this occasion, Dr Rahul Kohli, senior consultant and coordinator of nephrology department of the hospital, highlighted the fact that of all the patients who develop kidney failure in India, only 10-15% of them get proper treatment. About 6,000 undergo kidney transplant whereas 60,000 undergo haemodialysis.

Dr Bakshish Singh, senior consultant, nephrology department, said with the easy availability of haemodialysis facilities at every district level civil hospital and many private centres, it has become very important to focus on the quality of the dialysis being provided to the patients.

One of major reasons behind the meet is to create awareness among the people about the quality of haemodialysis treatment by using standardized techniques and operating methods. The newly available dialysis techniques like Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) were also discussed in detail. The medical specialists informed that the last decade has seen an epidemic rise in diabetes & hypertension leading to a huge increase in the incidence and prevalence of chronic kidney diseases (CKD). As per the latest Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) report, prevalence of diabetes has risen to 7.5% in rural India and up to 28% in some urban parts of the country.

Another point of concern is the relative early occurrence of kidney involvement in diabetics (20-40 years age group) in our country. To compound the problem further, majority of diabetics in India have a very poor blood sugar control. Patients who develop kidney failure are mostly unable to benefit from proper recommended therapy because of economic reasons. However, with the increasing availability of dialysis in government hospitals, there is some hope for the underprivileged kidney failure patients.