Treatment of kidney diseases in India pathetic, finds study
An additional 1.50 lakh new patients are added to the existing lot every year 5 to 7 p.c. get some form of treatment, rest die without any definite healthcare intervention High cost of treatment, non-availability of donors major limitations for successful treatment NEW DELHI: Each year an additional 1.50 lakh new patients of end-stage chronic kidney disease requiring dialysis or kidney transplant are added to the existing lot in the country. And of these only a measly 5 to 7 per cent are able to get some form of treatment, while the rest die without getting any definite healthcare intervention, a study conducted by All-India Institute of Medical Sciences and funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research has found. The study revealed that the high cost of treatment and non-availability of donors were the major limitation for successful treatment of chronic kidney disease, which also forced people to resort to all sorts of "legal and illegal' methods to get a kidney transplant. "The study took an overview of patients coming in with chronic kidney disease. Prevention of chronic kidney disease in this country is the only option if we want to reduce the cost of therapy related to the disease. Also co-ordinated approach to solve the acute shortage of kidney is required. Screening for chronic kidney disease is important as patients at early stage of kidney disease do not have any symptoms. If missed, then they come to hospital at very late stage when not much can be done,' said Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Additional Professor in the Department of Nephrology at AIIMS and principal investigator of the study. "Kidney diseases and kidney failure are alarmingly increasingly world-wide including India. It is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Acute kidney diseases are possible to cure, but chronic kidney diseases cannot be cured by any treatment,' he added. In India one in ten people has some form of chronic kidney disease. Diabetes and hypertension are responsible for more than 60 per cent cases of chronic kidney disease. Fifteen per cent of adults in urban areas are diabetic and 40 per cent of these are likely to develop kidney disease. About 20-30 per cent of the adults are hypertensive and many of them will develop chronic kidney disease. Many patients of chronic kidney disease die of cardiovascular complications. Stating that early detection and setting up a robust country-wide organ donor programme were key in controlling the disease, Dr. Agarwal said: "The group, which is at a high risk of developing chronic kidney disease, is first-degree relatives of patients of diabetes, hypertension and patients of chronic kidney disease. This group definitely needs more attention from point of view of prevention of chronic kidney disease.