Chronic kidney disease a silent killer of children, seminar told

Karachi
Chronic kidney disease in children is a silent killer and can result in numerous deaths in Pakistan if not detected at early stages, a seminar was told on Saturday.
Experts said the disease can be picked by screening even before the birth of a child or three days after the birth and treatment can save the lives of scores of children with the help of medication and surgery.
“Chronic kidney disease or CKD in children is a major health issue and if neglected by the parents and not properly treated by the qualified health experts, renal failure could happen and ultimately the child or the adult dies. Early detection is the key to prevention and treatment,” Executive Director National Institute of Child Health (NICH) Dr Jamal Raza told the seminar on Saturday.
The health awareness seminar on “Chronic Kidney Disease in Children: A Silent Killer” was organised by the Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman Memorial Society (MKRMS) in collaboration with the NICH at the health facility’s auditorium and it was addressed by senior physicians, pediatric nephrologists and surgeons of the hospital.
Prof Dr Jamal Raza maintained that antenatal screening of children for the detection of kidney problems could be done by the ultrasound of mother and if the physician considers that there was some abnormality with the kidneys of the unborn children, another structural ultrasound was done three days after the birth of the child and then treatment was started.
Another way of diagnosis of kidney disease among children is checking family history as if the parents or other siblings of the child have any kidney disease, he or she should be screened for the kidney disease, Dr Raza said.
He also pointed out some non-specific symptoms in children like vomiting and constipation and said in these symptoms too, physicians should also check for the kidney disease.
“And of course, the physician should check the child for specific symptoms like problems in urination, abdominal pain, excessive urination, and infections in the urinary tract.”
Dr Raza deplored that there was no aptitude of organ donation in Pakistan, where hundreds of patients were undergoing dialysis as kidney donations were not available for many patients.
“People should come forward and donate their organs as hundreds and thousands of patients are living miserably and scores die due to unavailability of donated organs.”
Pediatric nephrologist at the NICH Prof Dr Khemchand Moorani said that as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation, prevention is the vital investment in preventing the chronic kidney disease (CKD), and said screening programs should be launched at school levels to pick kidney diseases among children so that they could be treated.
He said children with low birth weight (LBW), those having family history and those whose mothers had Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) could be at the risk of having kidney diseases and they should be screened for the disease for their treatment.
Dr Anwar Arain, a surgeon at the NICH in his presentation, spoke on the formation of stone among children and adults and said stones formed in the kidneys either block the duct carrying urine to bladder or cause problems in bladder and they have to remove surgically or with the help of laser to provide relief to patients.
He said stones in the kidney could be formed due to infections or genetic reasons, and added that ultrasound was the best option to detect the stones.
“Excessive intake of water is the best option to prevent from stone formation in kidneys,” he advised.
Dr Bilquis Naeem, registrar at the NICH in her presentation, spoke on the symptoms that should be taken seriously by the parents, and said infections, frequent infections, vomiting and constipation were some of the signs that indicated kidney problems and related disorders among children.
She maintained strong-smelling urine, excessive urination, dribbling, problems in passing urine, bed-wetting were some other symptoms of the kidney disease, and claimed that infections caused by the harmful bacteria were some of the major reasons behind kidney diseases among children.
The seminar was moderated by Wasif Nagi, Senior Editor Jang Lahore, who vowed to continue holding awareness seminars and programs for the awareness of society and people about ailments in children.