On October 14-15, 2019, the 1st Symposium to Promote Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Research in Guatemala was held in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The Symposium hosted more than 50 attendees, including health care professionals, policy makers, researchers, and leaders of nongovernmental organizations. The meeting's objectives were to (1) share clinical and health delivery experiences, (2) disseminate local research, and (3) establish consensus priorities for future research. In this report, we review the state of CKD nephrology in Guatemala, summarize experiences shared during the meeting from representatives of the clinical settings in Guatemala where CKD care is provided, and describe consensus priorities for future research.

Recibido: 22 de nov. de 2018 Aceptado: 19 mar. 2019 Introducción: En Guatemala, las tasas de prevalencia y mortalidad por Enfermedad Renal Crónica (ERC) han incrementado durante la última década. Con el fin de obtener información epidemiológica relevante sobre ERC y establecer su relación con factores de riesgo, se realizó un ejercicio de vigilancia epidemiológica en hospitales de la red nacional seleccionados. Métodos: Se describen los resultados de los Hospitales de Quetzaltenango, San Benito Petén y Chimaltenango en el periodo de Octubre 2017 a Marzo del año 2018. Resultados: Se captaron 968 pacientes. La edad media fue de 41 años (DS, 17.4) y el 32% eran de sexo masculino. El 48% de los pacientes eran del Hospital de Chimaltenango, seguidos por el Hospital de Quetzaltenango con 37% y el Hospital de San Benito Petén con 15%. El 40% de los pacientes presentó un peso adecuado, 14% antecedente de hipertensión arterial y el 9%, de diabetes mellitus. La media de la eTFG de los pacientes fue de 98.7 mL/min/1.73m2 (DS, 31.32). El 65% de los pacientes presentó eTFG>90 mL/min/1.73m2, 28% entre 90-60 mL/min/1.73m2 y 7% eTFG< 60 mL/min/1.73m2. De los pacientes con eTFG<60 mL/min/1.73m2, el 29% tuvieron sobrepeso y 13% obesidad, poseen 2.18 veces más probabilidad de tener hipertensión arterial y 4.48 veces de diabetes mellitus con relación a los pacientes con eTFG>90 mL/min/1.73m2. Conclusión: El 7% de los pacientes presentó eTFG por debajo de 60 mL/min/1.73m2. La hipertensión arterial y diabetes mellitus están significativamente asociadas con la disminución eTFG.

BackgroundComparing rates of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) among men who have sex with men (MSM) in different European countries is challenging due to national differences in reporting systems, healthcare systems, infectious disease surveillance methods, quality of data, and/or levels of social acceptance of homosexual behaviours and openness about homosexuality.MethodsFrom June through August 2010, the European MSM Internet Survey (EMIS) mobilised more than 180 000 respondents from 38 European countries to complete an online questionnaire in one of 25 languages. The questionnaire covered sexual happiness, HIV and STI-testing and diagnoses, unmet prevention needs, intervention performance, HIV-related stigma and gay-related discrimination. Recruitment was organised predominantly online, through gay social media, and links and banners on more than 100 websites for MSM all over Europe.ResultsPerceptions on access to free/affordable STI-testing differed across Europe (median: 80%; range: 40–95%); and was substantially correlated with reported recent STI-testing (R2=0.27). Quality of STI-testing was highly diverse: While blood-testing was common in all participating countries, only Ireland, Malta, and the UK seem to offer penile or particularly anal examinations as standard of care. In all participating countries HIV-positive respondents reported higher rates of both STI-testing and diagnosis. Self-reported STI-screening among men without HIV diagnosis ranged from 10% (Turkey) to 37% (Netherlands). Substantial correlations between rates of testing procedures appropriate for MSM (such as anal or genital swabs) and diagnosed gonorrhoea (R2HIV-pos=0.24) or Chlamydia infections were observed (R2HIV-pos=0.50; R2others=0.29).ConclusionSelf-reported testing and diagnosis rates for bacterial STIs suggest high levels of under-diagnosis and unmet sexual healthcare needs in most European countries. In Europe, there is an urgent need to implement or improve sexual healthcare tailored to MSM-specific needs.