Epidemiological, Clinical, Outcome, and Prognostic Profile of Kidney Damage at the Charite Maternelle General Referral Hospital, Goma (DRC), 2016–2020: A Retrospective Descriptive Study

Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) represent a growing burden in sub-Saharan Africa, where local hospital-based data remain scarce. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), no published study had previously described this profile at the Charite Maternelle University Hospital in Goma. Objective: To describe the epidemiological, clinical, therapeutic, outcome, and prognostic profile of kidney diseases in the Internal Medicine Department of the Charite Maternelle University Hospital in Goma between January 2016 and January 2020. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study including 60 hospitalized patients with a confirmed diagnosis of AKI or CKD, selected from 2,675 admissions to the Internal Medicine Department. Data were collected using a standardized form entered KoboCollect and analyzed with SPSS version 20. Qualitative variables were expressed as frequencies and percentages, while quantitative variables were presented as mean ± standard deviation or median [interquartile range], depending on their distribution. Results: Among 2,675 patients, 60 (2.24%) had kidney disease: 41 AKI (68.3%) and 19 CKD (31.7%). There was a male predominance (sex ratio 1.31; 56.7%). AKI occurred more frequently in patients under 40 years (46.3%), whereas CKD predominated in those aged 40–65 years (57.9%). Sepsis was the leading cause of AKI (51.2%), followed by hypovolemia (34.1%) and drug-induced nephrotoxicity (14.6%). Diabetes (57.9%) and hypertension (36.8%) were the main causes of CKD. Renal ultrasound abnormalities were found in 46.7% of cases. Only 26.3% of CKD patients received dialysis. Overall mortality in CKD was 21.1%. Conclusion: This study highlights the predominance of sepsis in AKI and the diabetes–hypertension combination in CKD, in a resource-limited setting with very restricted access to renal replacement therapy. It underscores the urgent need to improve early detection and management of cardiovascular and infectious risk factors.