SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Oct 18 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The incidence of patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in Replacement Renal Treatment (RRT) stood at 171.4 people per million population in the Canary Islands in 2020, which represents a decrease of 4.6% compared to 2019 , according to data from the Spanish Registry of Kidney Diseases.
This registry is the result of the collaboration between the Spanish Society of Nephrology (SEN), the National Transplant Organization and the Autonomous Registries of Renal Patients, and whose latest report has been presented at the 51st National Congress of the SEN, which is held until today online.
Despite the fact that new cases have been reduced in the Archipelago, the incidence in the Canarian community is well above the national average, which stands at 141 per million inhabitants, which makes it the second Spanish community with the highest incidence rate, behind Catalonia.
For its part, the prevalence (total number of cases) of patients with CKD in RRT in the Canary Islands reached 1,555 pmp, also much higher than the national average (1,363 pmp), but experiencing a slight decrease of 0.7% with respect to 2019, in which it stood at 1,567 pmp.
The Canary Islands is the second community in Spain with the highest CKD prevalence rate, behind the Valencian Community and ahead of Catalonia. Thus, there are already about 3,500 people in the Canary Islands who require RRT to replace the function of their kidneys, that is, dialysis or transplantation.
At the national level, CKD had a decrease in incidence and a stabilization of prevalence, largely motivated by the health crisis of COVID-19, data that, far from being positive, only demonstrate the negative impact that the pandemic has had at the beginning of kidney treatments, “despite the enormous effort made by professionals to minimize the impact of the health crisis,” said the president of the SEN, Patricia de Sequera.
The prevalence of CKD, which had been growing in recent years, stabilized in 2020, standing at 1,363 pmp, a rate very similar to that registered in 2019 (1,367 pmp). This means that, in total, and according to the latest data from 2020, a total of 64,666 people with advanced CKD receive RRT. Nephrologists have warned of the social and health damage that a late start of replacement treatment supposes and they have asked the administrations for resources to make up for lost time.
In addition, the pandemic caused a 7% decrease in the incidence of CKD patients who started RRT in 2020. This patient rate stood at 141 pmp compared to the 152 pmp cases registered in 2019. In total, 6,708 people started RRT with dialysis or transplantation throughout 2020, the majority men (67%), and 60% with age equal to or greater than 65 years. The most frequent cause of kidney disease in these new cases was diabetes, with 26%, followed by cardiovascular diseases (13.7%).
In the case of kidney transplantation, the number of procedures performed in 2020 fell by 21%, although in 2021 the activity is recovering. Despite this, a total of 2,702 kidney transplants were performed in Spain. Thanks to this important transplant activity in our country, which is a world leader in kidney transplantation, 55% of RRT patients live with a kidney transplant.
The crisis also had a negative impact on the mortality of CKD patients, which increased slightly in all treatment modalities, and stood at 8.3% (compared to 7.2% the previous year), falling to 3.3%. % in the case of kidney transplantation. In total, more than 5,800 people died on TRS. Infections (29%) and cardiovascular causes (16%) were the main causes of death in all RRT modalities.
This increase in mortality is related to the greater vulnerability of CKD patients to COVID-19, which led to their inclusion in special risk groups for vaccination. In fact, from March 2020 to October 2021, more than 6,000 RRT patients in Spain had been infected with SARS-CoV-2, with a global mortality rate of 21% in the pandemic, which was even higher in the first months of the health crisis.
A positive reading deserves the consolidation of Peritoneal Dialysis -which allows the patient greater autonomy in their daily life- as an initial replacement treatment option (16% of the total), although SEN experts stress the need to continue increasing this percentage, establishing the appropriate policies for this and carrying out information and awareness-raising efforts among patients and their families, who are often reluctant to home treatments.
THE LARGEST MEETING ON NEPHROLOGY IN SPAIN
The latest data on Kidney Disease in Spain have been presented at the 51st Congress of the Spanish Nephrology Society (SEN), which is held virtually until today, and which is the largest professional meeting on nephrology and kidney disease to be held. In our country.
Some 1,500 nephrologists, researchers and experts from the national and international level participate in it, in order to address the latest advances, research and strategies to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of CKD and kidney patients.
In addition, the SEN Congress has intended for another year to serve as a loudspeaker to publicize and sensitize Spanish society and public opinion about the importance and impact of CKD, a pathology that, despite affecting some seven million of Spaniards and having a strong impact on the quality of life of patients, remains a great unknown for the majority of the population, also representing a significant burden for the health system.
The meeting has dedicated a large part of its program to dealing with the updating aspects of CKD, but also to addressing other interesting topics such as COVID-19 -which has considerably affected kidney patients, especially in hemodialysis- Intelligence Artificial and the application of Intelligent Nephrology, Cardio-Renal Medicine, Diabetic Kidney Disease, news in Acute Renal Failure and Vascular Access, Onco-Nephrology, Conservative Management and Palliative Care of the Renal Patient, or Therapy Cellular in Nephrology, in addition to various symposia and debates, refresher courses, technical forums, and other conferences of interest. Likewise, all the scientific production of Spanish nephrologists has been presented, with almost 600 communications on the latest research and studies related to kidney diseases.
