Datonye Dennis Alasia

A single-center 7-year experience with end-stage renal disease care in Nigeria-a surrogate for the poor state of ESRD care in Nigeria and other sub-saharan african countries: advocacy for a global fund for ESRD care program in sub-saharan african countries.

Background. A single-center ESRD care experience in a Nigerian teaching hospital is presented as a surrogate case to demonstrate the prevailing ESRD care situation in Nigeria and most SSA countries. Methods. The data of 320 consecutive ESRD patients undergoing maintenance haemodialysis treatment during a seven-year period were retrospectively analyzed. Results. Over 80% of the subjects funded dialysis treatments from direct out of pocket payment. The mean duration on dialysis before dropout was 5.2 ± 7.6 weeks, with majority 314 (98.1%) of the patients unable to sustain dialysis above 12 weeks. Total dialysis sessions during the 7-year period was 1476 giving an average weekly dialysis session of 0.013 (0.05 hour/week) per patient per week. One hundred and twenty-eight (40%) patients died within 90 days of entry into dialysis care. Conclusions. ESRD care in this single centre was characterized by gross dialysis inadequacy and case fatality due to the inability to access and afford care. The opportunities for kidney transplantation are also very low. Poverty and the absence of government support for ESRD care are responsible for the poor outcomes. A global focus on ESRD care in SSA countries has thus become imperative.

Clinical Outcomes of Dialysis-Treated Acute Kidney Injury Patients at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Nigeria

Background. Acute kidney injury in adults is a common cause of hospitalization, associated with high morbidity and mortality especially in developing countries. In spite of RRT the in-hospital mortality rates remain high even in the developed countries. Though a proportion of our patients receive renal replacement therapy as part of their management, data on outcomes are sparse. Study Objective. To determine the clinical outcomes of dialysis-treated AKI in our hospital. Methods. A retrospective analysis of the clinical data of all adult AKI patients treated with haemodialysis at the University of Teaching Hospital during an interrupted six-year period was conducted. Analysis was done using SPSS version 17.0. Results. 34 males and 28 females with mean age of 41.3 ± 18.5 years were studied. The leading causes of AKI were sepsis (22.7%), acute glomerulonephritis (20.5%), acute gastroenteritis (15.9%), and toxic nephropathies (11.4%) and presented with mean e-GFR of 14.7 ± 5.8 mls/min/1.73 m2. Of the 62 patients, 29 (46.8%) were discharged from the hospital, 27 (43.5%) died in hospital, while 6 (9.7%) absconded from treatment. Survivors had better Rifle grade than those who died (P < 0.001). Conclusion. Hospital mortality rate of dialysis-treated AKI patients is high and the severity of renal damage at presentation may be an important factor.