Warning about kidney disease rejuvenation
The Center for Nephrology, Urology and Dialysis, Bach Mai Hospital has about 160-180 kidney patients receiving inpatient treatment. On average, the center receives 30-40 new patients every day. Notably, among the hospitalized patients, there are more and more people under 30 years old, the age group that is the main labor force in the family.
Dr. Nghiem Trung Dung - Director of the Center for Nephrology, Urology and Dialysis, Bach Mai Hospital - said: "Many young people, even under 30 years old, have been hospitalized for chronic glomerulonephritis, some of whom were diagnosed when the disease was in its final stages. This is a warning about the rejuvenation of kidney disease."
Sad stories from young patients
Patient Mai, 30 years old in Bac Giang (name changed), shared: “5 years ago, while I was at work, I suddenly had a stomachache and nausea. When I went to the hospital, the doctor diagnosed me with end-stage renal failure. Since I found out about my illness, my life has been turned upside down. Even basic activities have become difficult.”
In a similar situation, Ha, 30 years old in Hanoi (name changed), discovered the disease in 2020 during a routine health check. Initially, it was just a warning about proteinuria, but by 2022, the disease became more severe with symptoms such as foamy urine, nausea, and insomnia. Currently, Ha is being treated for end-stage renal failure with artificial kidney method and waiting for a kidney transplant.
At the Department of Nephrology and Dialysis - National Children's Hospital, 2 years ago, patient Le Van Tan, 13 years old in Bac Ninh (character's name has been changed) had a stomachache and nausea, his family took him to the district hospital for examination. When the doctors concluded that he had acute glomerulonephritis and transferred him to the Central hospital, the family was very worried.
After treatment at the National Children's Hospital, Tan returned home to school as usual and did not return for a follow-up visit. Later, seeing Tan having a stomachache, his family bought herbal medicine for him to take. When his illness became more severe, his family took Tan to the National Children's Hospital for examination, where he had chronic kidney failure. Now Tan has to undergo regular dialysis 3-4 times a week.
According to Master, Doctor Pham Tien Dung - Center for Nephrology, Urology and Dialysis, many patients come to the hospital when the disease is in the final stage, some are only 15-16 years old. Most patients come to the hospital too late, everything is almost impossible to reverse. If detected at an early stage, the progression of kidney disease can be slowed down.
Dr. Nguyen Thu Huong - Head of the Department of Nephrology and Dialysis, National Children's Hospital - informed that the rate of acute and chronic kidney failure in children and adults in the community currently has no specific figures, but here they are monitoring and treating dozens of children with end-stage chronic kidney failure, of which 15 children need to undergo hemodialysis and the rest are on peritoneal dialysis.
The burden of lateness
Dr. Nghiem Trung Dung emphasized: "The cause of kidney disease rejuvenation is not only due to glomerulonephritis but also comes from an unscientific lifestyle: using drinks of unknown origin, eating a lot of salt, being lazy, sleeping late, leading to obesity and metabolic diseases."
“Detecting the disease at a late stage will result in high treatment costs, short survival time, and seriously affect the patient's quality of life,” shared Dr. Nghiem Trung Dung.
When kidney failure reaches the end stage, the patient has only three options: hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis or kidney transplant. Regardless of the method, the burden of cost and treatment time becomes a great pressure for the patient and family.
Dr. Nghiem Trung Dung added: “There are cases where the family is eligible for a kidney transplant, but because the patient has severe heart failure, it cannot be performed. At that time, the only optimal method left is periodic dialysis.”
Early detection of chronic kidney disease brings many benefits: prolonging the time of conservative treatment, reducing costs and improving the quality of life. This requires each person to be more aware of health care, especially the habit of regular health check-ups. Chronic kidney disease is not only a personal story but also a burden for the whole family and society.
