Chronic Kidney Disease in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Nepal

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an increasingly recognized major public health problem globally and in Nepal. It has a high prevalence in the population and is associated with high morbidity, mortality and health care costs. Here, we aimed to study the socio-demographic profiles, etiologies of CKD and associated co-morbidities in patients attending a referral hospital. Methods: We conducted a hospital based, descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study among adult patients with CKD attending Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), Kathmandu. Patients younger than 16 years and renal allograft recipients were excluded from the study. A diagnosis of CKD was established by the treating nephrologist based on KDIGO 2012 clinical practice guideline. Prior informed consent was taken. Data was collected on clinical features, socio-demographic profiles, major co-morbidities, presumed etiology of CKD and hematological and biochemical parameters of the patients. SPSS version 24 (Chicago, IL, USA) was used for the analysis of data. The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Institute of Medicine (IOM). Results: A total of 401 patients with CKD were included in the study. The mean age of the patient was 50.92 years (SD=17.98), male to female ratio was 1.8:1. Among these patients, 86% were Hindu, 24.4% were farmers, 57% were from the Hilly region of Nepal, 51% were active smokers, and 51.6% were alcohol consumers. Chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) (36.2%; n= 145), diabetes mellitus (31.9%; n= 128) and hypertension (21.7%; n=87) were the three most common identified causes of CKD. Among the biopsy proven CGN patients, IgA nephropathy was the most common cause. In a large proportion of patients (68.3%) cause of CGN was not known. Most of the patients were in CKD stage 5 (27%), and stage 5D (55.8%). Coronary artery disease (CAD) (in 7% patients), heart failure (in 2.7%) and stroke (in 2.2%) were the most common comorbidities. Anemia was prevalent in CKD from stage 3 onwards, the severity increased with increasing stage (p <0.001). Hemodialysis was the predominant mode of renal replacement therapy (RRT) used by 98.2% of CKD 5D patients. Conclusion: Nepalese patients of CKD are younger; males are more affected than females. CGN, diabetes and hypertension are three most common causes of CKD; IgA nephropathy is the most common cause of biopsy proven CGN leading to CKD. Anemia is common from CKD stage 3 onwards. The most common associated co-morbidity is CAD.