End-Stage Renal Disease in Latin America

International Society of Nephrology Global Kidney Health Atlas: structures, organization, and services for the management of kidney failure in Latin America

“…For example, it would not be reasonable to suggest that countries with limited health budgets allocate a large proportion of funding to expensive KRT modalities, such as HD for every citizen, particularly considering the increasing life expectancy in the region and the vast geographic coverage of many Latin American countries. 1 PD has been shown to be a highly cost-effective form of KRT in resource-limited countries, while also being associated with better preservation of residual kidney function, greater patient satisfaction, and greater suitability for patients living in rural and remote areas. [26][27][28][29] In this context, our findings that PD was only generally available in half of the surveyed countries, the median prevalence of PD centers was lower than the global median, and a minority of dialysis patients began treatment with PD suggest that this dialysis modality is a highly underutilized resource in the Latin American region, especially in lower-income countries (e.g., Bolivia) and geographically large countries (e.g., Brazil and Argentina).…”

“…atin America, as a region, is experiencing a demographic and epidemiologic transition, with reductions in child mortality and communicable diseases, longer life expectancy, and rapid urbanization triggering a surge in lifestyle-associated noncommunicable diseases. 1 In this setting, the burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and kidney failure, particularly in wealthier countries, can be traced to diabetes and hypertension. Particular to Latin America is the phenomenon of Mesoamerican nephropathy or CKD of unknown etiology, an epidemic of rapidly progressive kidney disease among young male sugarcane workers in several Central American countries; the high mortality rate is exposing health care system limitations of many countries to cope with such a public health emergency.…”