Epidemiological study of patients on regular haemodialysis at the Kafer El-Shakh Governorate, Egypt

Abstract

Aim of this work To study the epidemiology of haemodialysis among patients in the Kafer El-Shakh Governorate. Background End-stage renal disease (ESRD) has become a worldwide health concern. In developed countries, there is electronic data registry, which allows easy statistical analysis and determination of the size of the problem for future plans. In developing countries, there is no data registry and only scarce data were available about the epidemiology of dialysed patients. Patients and methods A questionnaire was conducted in haemodialysis units in the Kafer El-Shakh Governorate during the year 2012, focusing on the demographic data, vascular access, the hepatitis C status and causes of ESRD. Results The mean age was 51.34 + 13.5 years, and 60.7% of the patients were male. The mean duration of dialysis was 34 + 1. The main known causes of ESRD were hypertension (34%) and diabetic nephropathy (14%), whereas unknown causes represented 25.3% of the cases. The prevalence of hepatitis C was 39.7%. Out of 735 patients, 654 (89%) had no history of vascular access failure. Conclusion In the Kafer El-Shakh Governorate, there was a low prevalence rate of haemodialysis compared with the whole of Egypt. Haemodialysis represents the only mode of treatment of ESRD patients. Hypertension and diabetes constituted the major known causes. A unified system of electronic data registry should be started in each governorate to constitute the National Egyptian Data Registry.