Jakarta –
Dialysis requests at the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Singapore have increased to around 100 patients each month. Growth was recorded almost double compared to the trend of the last five years.
Unfortunately, this description is believed to be only a few of the many cases in this area that have not been identified. Only 9,000 people have been diagnosed with kidney failure, while the NKF estimates that more than 300,000 people with chronic kidney disease are at risk of developing kidney failure.
“For every 10 diagnoses, there are five to seven people who are unaware of their condition,” said Yeo Xi Cheng, head of kidney medicine at Tan Tok Seng Hospital (TTSH).
“If nothing changes, there will be no room for new patients in the dialysis center,” he added. “At the current pace, we need to have a dialysis center in every HDB.”
Quiet turn off
About a third of patients fail; The kidneys do not know if they have a disease. The nearest medical institution is usually treated only when there are complaints of swollen legs and itching in the abdomen, which do not go away.
In fact, in this phase, the patient is on the verge of irreparable damage to the kidneys. The only options are lifelong dialysis and transplantation.
“It’s like a silent killer,” Yeoh said.
“Because in the early stages (CKD), patients do not feel any symptoms. They feel normal, feel healthy, although their kidney function is declining. Many patients don’t even realize it until they’ve gone into stage five, known as kidney failure.”
It is very difficult for Dr. Yeo Xi Cheng to diagnose kidney failure in a patient. “The burden of health, as well as the emotional support that patients need, is enormous.”
It was then that almost 85 percent of the kidneys went bad. “Very bad,” he said. “We always imagined how different life could have been for this group of patients had they been identified earlier.”
Trust patients
“I do the same procedure over and over again for nine years to survive,” said Radheana Zamri, who was 21 when she found out she had kidney failure and is now 30.
He is the youngest patient at the center.
On dialysis days, she leaves the house at 6:50 am with a snack pack for her four-hour therapy session.
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(naf/out)