Med. praxi. 2014;11(3):106-108

Chronic kidney disease - role of nephrologist and general practitioner

prof.MUDr.Romana Ryšavá, CSc.

Klinika nefrologie, Univerzita Karlova v Praze, 1. lékařská fakulta a VFN, Praha

Chronic kidney disease affects nearly one tenth of the population and is becoming not only a medical, but also socioeconomic problem.

The best measure taken in order to slow down the epidemic of development of advanced disease stages is the implementation of screening

programmes to search for patients with a pre-existing renal injury or to identify those who have risk factors for its development (e.g. hypertension,

cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus or other metabolic disorders, risky medications etc.). New recommendations for assessment

and treatment of chronic kidney disease focus not only on the assessment of renal function by means of glomerular filtration rate and the

level of albuminuria, but emphasis is also placed on determining structural abnormalities in the renal parenchyma and identifying the cause

of kidney disease. Based on meta-analyses of large trials, a scheme for determining the risk of progression of chronic kidney disease has

been devised that recommends both the frequency of evaluations of renal parameters and the appropriateness of being followed up by a

nephrologist in individual patient categories. Groups of patients with a low risk of progression can be followed up by general practitioners

and in a longer time interval; patients with the highest risk should be followed up at least four times a year by a specialist, a nephrologist.

Keywords: chronic kidney disease, albuminuria, glomerular filtration rate

Published: May 15, 2014  Show citation