Chronic kidney disease does not have any symptoms, it is not painful and remains undetected, which is why it is important to launch a national early detection programme, the president of the Croatian Association for Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, Mario Laganović, told a press conference.
World Kidney Day, which is marked on the second Thursday in March, was marked in Croatia for the 17th year in a row and this year’s slogan is “With knowledge to better care of kidney patients.”
Laganović presented the results of an initial screening programme for early detection of chronic kidney disease that was conducted in 40 family doctors’ offices throughout Croatia. The screening encompassed 428 at-risk patients with high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and a family history of kidney disease.
Undetected kidney damage was identified in 23% of the patients, which indicates that its frequency among at-risk groups is much higher than in the general population.
“The results speak in favour of the need for a programme to be launched at the national level for early detection and treatment of chronic kidney diseases such as those which already exist for diabetes, heart disorders and malignant diseases,” Laganović said.
His colleague Lada Zibar called on those in power to dedicate attention to kidneys for the sake of the well-being of patients but also for the healthcare system because the cost of haemodialysis for a patient costs between HRK 100,000 and 150,000 a year.
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