Mind the gap in kidney care: translating what we know into what we do

Valerie A Luyckx; Katherine R Tuttle; Dina Abdellatif; Ricardo Correa-Rotter; Winston W S Fung; Agnès Haris; Li-Li Hsiao; Makram Khalife; Latha A Kumaraswami; Fiona Loud; Vasundhara Raghavan; Stefanos Roumeliotis; Marianella Sierra; Ifeoma Ulasi; Bill Wang; Siu-Fai Lui; Vassilios Liakopoulos; Alessandro Balducci; World Kidney Day Joint Steering Committee

doi:10.1016/j.kint.2023.12.003

Mind the gap in kidney care: translating what we know into what we do

Kidney Int. 2024 Mar;105(3):406-417. doi: 10.1016/j.kint.2023.12.003.

Authors

Valerie A Luyckx¹, Katherine R Tuttle², Dina Abdellatif³, Ricardo Correa-Rotter⁴, Winston W S Fung⁵, Agnès Haris⁶, Li-Li Hsiao⁷, Makram Khalife⁸, Latha A Kumaraswami⁹, Fiona Loud⁸, Vasundhara Raghavan⁸, Stefanos Roumeliotis¹⁰, Marianella Sierra⁸, Ifeoma Ulasi¹¹, Bill Wang⁸, Siu-Fai Lui¹², Vassilios Liakopoulos¹⁰, Alessandro Balducci¹³; World Kidney Day Joint Steering Committee

Collaborators

World Kidney Day Joint Steering Committee:
Alessandro Balducci, Vassilios Liakopoulos, Li-Li Hsiao, Ricardo Correa-Rotter, Ifeoma Ulasi, Latha Kumaraswami, Siu Fai Lui, Dina Abdellatif, Ágnes Haris

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public and Global Health, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Renal Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Providence Medical Research Center, Providence Inland Northwest Health, Spokane, Washington, USA; Nephrology Division, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Department of Nephrology, Cairo University Hospital, Cairo, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Nephrology and Mineral Metabolism, National Medical Science and Nutrition Institute Salvador Zubiran, Mexico City, Mexico.
⁵ Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ Nephrology Department, Péterfy Hospital, Budapest, Hungary.
⁷ Renal Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁸ ISN Patient Liaison Advisory Group.
⁹ Tamilnad Kidney Research (TANKER) Foundation, Chennai, India.
¹⁰ 2nd Department of Nephrology, AHEPA University Hospital Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
¹¹ Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu, Nigeria.
¹² Division of Health System, Policy and Management, Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
¹³ Italian Kidney Foundation, Rome, Italy.

PMID: 38375622
DOI: 10.1016/j.kint.2023.12.003

Abstract

Historically, it takes an average of 17 years to move new treatments from clinical evidence to daily practice. Given the highly effective treatments now available to prevent or delay kidney disease onset and progression, this is far too long. The time is now to narrow the gap between what we know and what we do. Clear guidelines exist for the prevention and management of common risk factors for kidney disease, such as hypertension and diabetes, but only a fraction of people with these conditions worldwide are diagnosed, and even fewer are treated to target. Similarly, the vast majority of people living with kidney disease are unaware of their condition, because in the early stages it is often silent. Even among patients who have been diagnosed, many do not receive appropriate treatment for kidney disease. Considering the serious consequences of kidney disease progression, kidney failure, or death, it is imperative that treatments are initiated early and appropriately. Opportunities to diagnose and treat kidney disease early must be maximized beginning at the primary care level. Many systematic barriers exist, ranging from patient to clinician to health systems to societal factors. To preserve and improve kidney health for everyone everywhere, each of these barriers must be acknowledged so that sustainable solutions are developed and implemented without further delay.

Keywords: World Kidney Day; chronic kidney disease; equity; kidney care; public health.

MeSH terms

Humans
Hypertension* / diagnosis
Hypertension* / therapy
Kidney
Kidney Diseases* / diagnosis
Kidney Diseases* / therapy
Risk Factors