Dialysis cases on the rise

By Cheneen R. Capon
Cases of patients on dialysis in the Davao Region are “alarmingly” increasing by 10 percent every year, making the region as the country’s no. 5 ranked region with the highest prevalence of patients in dialysis.
“Data from the Renal Disease Program revealed that a total 1,200 new cases of patients on dialysis were recorded in 2014 and that is expected to increase in 2015,” Southern Philippine Medical Center (SPMC) nephrologists Dr. Theresa Bad-ang said in yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao Annex.
Bad-ang said she estimated that more than 3,000 patients suffering from chronic kidney disease are on dialysis in Davao Region which led to establishment of more private dialysis centers in the city.
“Patients undergoing dialysis in the city are getting younger and younger every year,” Bad-ang said adding the youngest patient recorded in the city is 8 years old which is suffering from inherited diabetes and worsen by lifestyle choice.
Bad-ang said majority of new cases recorded in the region are from the 60 to 65 age range. She also said there was also an increase in the number of patients on dialysis among young professionals. However, she said youth ages 12 to 18 years are also vulnerable to kidney diseases.
In the region, she said the top three causes of kidney failure are diabetes, hypertension, and kidney stones.
Bad-ang said around 16,000 new cases were recorded in 2014. “There are more than 50,000 Filipinos of different ages undergoing dialysis.”
While Davao placed on the fifth rank, she said Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) notched the top rank of areas with the highest number of dialysis patients. It was followed Pampanga, Batangas, and Cebu.
“We need to always remind the public the importance of early detection,” she said adding that each session of dialysis is around P4, 000 aside from insulin injection that costs around P1,500. On the average, a patient would need at least thrice session per week to lengthen by 70 percent the lifestyle on the first year. After five years of dialysis, she said survival rate of a patient dropped to 30 percent.
Of the total 600 nephrologists in the country, only 13 are in Davao, she said. “The doctor patient is 1:200,000 patients. That is one of the reasons we don’t have so much time for our personal lives. Most of our times are consumed of rounds and checking patients in different centers. ”
She reminded the public to have a healthy lifestyle and exercise for only 30 minutes five times a week to avoid kidney diseases. She also said health buffs should avoid heavy consumption of muscle enhancement pills because it can cause kidney diseases in the long run.
Meanwhile, she said the SPMC will be also adding 12 more new units of dialysis machine on top of it 54 existing machines to cater the increasing number of patients in the region.