Pattern of Renal Diseases among Children in The Niger Delta Region, Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: Childhood renal diseases are increasing in Nigeria. It is necessary to monitor the nature of these diseases in each locality for effective health care planning. Our aim was to document the nature of renal diseases in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria and compare it with other regions in the country.

METHODS: We reviewed the documents of all children presenting with renal diseases between January 2010 and December 2012 to the Delta State University Teaching Hospital in Oghara and GN Children's Clinic in Warri, the two major pediatric nephrology service providers in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

RESULTS: A total of 110 patients were studied, comprising 73 males and 37 females. About half the patients were aged 5-10 years. Renal diseases accounted for 1.6% of all admissions during the same period. The commonest presentations were nephrotic syndrome (30%), acute glomerulonephritis (18.2%), urinary tract infection (16.3%), acute kidney injury (10.9%), chronic kidney diseases (7.3%) and obstructive uropathy (7.3%). Regarding the outcome of renal diseases, 80% of the patients achieved full recovery, 14.6% died and 5.4% were discharged against medical advice or lost to follow up. The highest mortality rate was among patients with chronic kidney disease (75%), followed by acute kidney injury (41.7%).

CONCLUSION: A renal registry based on unified definitions of renal diseases is required for the proper planning of health care strategies. Mortality rate of chronic kidney disease was high in this study mostly due to late presentation.