KARACHI, March 8: Expressing concern over the rising incidents of renal failures in the country, Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim said that the only treatment for this ailment was either dialysis or kidney transplantation which was very costly.
Speaking as chief guest at a function on the occasion of World Kidney Day at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) on Thursday, Dr Arbab emphasised on the importance of ‘prevention’ of kidney diseases.
He appreciated the efforts of Dr Adibul Hasan Rizvi and his team saying that the SIUT was the only standard institute of its kind in the country providing free services to patients with renal diseases.
Earlier, SIUT Director Dr Rizvi highlighted the importance of kidney day and said that it was a moral and national duty to create awareness about kidney diseases. He said that the institute was playing its role in providing free of cost medical care to the ailing humanity. He also spoke about the facilities being provided at the institute for dialysis, transplantation and other medical and surgical treatment.
A scientific session for health professionals was also held, which was addressed by Prof K.S Parabhakar from Singapore, Prof Ejaz Ahmed, Prof Manzoor Hussain of the SIUT and Dr Ali Asghar Lanewala.
Dr Ejaz in his speech threw light on ‘Chronic kidney diseases’ and said that delay in diagnosis always proved fatal in the case of kidney diseases.
He said that blood pressure and sugar was some of the main reasons of kidney diseases, which could be avoided if people took it seriously and ensured their timely medical check up.
Dr Manzoor Hussain spoke on ‘Stone disease and prevention’ and said that it was very common in our country, especially in the interior of Sindh as 500 to 600 persons suffering from such diseases visited the SIUT every week.
Dr Ali Asghar Lanewala’s speech was about ‘Urinary tract infection in children’. He also stressed the need for diagnosis, regular medical check-up by qualified physicians, intake of fluids and avoiding unnecessary antibiotics.
Dr K.S. Prabhakar spoke on ‘Diabetes and renal failure’ and said that kidneys of 60 per cent people suffered due to diabetes, as people do not take it seriously.
AKU SEMINAR: The Aga Khan University organised a seminar on “Early detection and prevention of chronic kidney disease” in connection with Word Kidney Day on Thursday.
Speaking at the seminar, Dr Wasim Jafri, chairman of the AKU’S medicine department, stressed the need for creating awareness about screening of people in the high-risk groups for kidney disease.
Dr Jaffar Naqvi, president of Kidney Foundation, shared his findings on the situation of patients with kidney failure on dialysis in Pakistan, and his experience of the End-Stage Renal Failure Registry. He stressed the need for government-sponsored haemodialysis programmes.
Dr Tazeen Jafar, associate professor and head of nephrology section at the AKU, said that as many as 10 million adults in Pakistan might be suffering from some form of kidney disease, and thus were at risk of its adverse outcomes, including eventual need for dialysis or premature death from heart disease.
She highlighted the existing and rapidly rising burden of chronic kidney disease in Pakistan, and emphasised the need for aggressive screening for the presence of kidney disease by simple blood and urine test of men and women with diabetes, hypertension, obesity, aged 50 years or over, as well as those with family history of kidney disease.