Dialysis patients at Thong Nhat General Hospital. Photo: H. Dung |
According to statistics from the Ministry of Health , our country has about 10 million people with chronic kidney disease, of which about 26 thousand people have end-stage chronic kidney failure. Death due to chronic kidney disease ranks 8th out of 10 leading causes of death in Vietnam.
Suffering from chronic kidney failure
Thong Nhat General Hospital is one of the medical facilities with the largest number of dialysis machines in Vietnam today with 104 machines. However, this number of machines is still not enough to meet the dialysis needs of patients in and outside the province.
There are currently 530 patients with chronic kidney failure undergoing regular dialysis at the Artificial Kidney Department, Thong Nhat General Hospital. Every day, the department performs 4 dialysis sessions, and the machines and human resources operate at full capacity. The department is often overloaded. Many patients are placed on the dialysis waiting list or are referred to other hospitals and medical centers in and outside the province for dialysis.
Ms. TTH (78 years old, reflected in Dinh Quan commune) said that she has had diabetes since she was 30 years old. More than a year ago, after she had a second stroke, the doctor examined her health and discovered that she had stage 4 kidney failure, requiring her to undergo dialysis. Initially, she underwent dialysis at Thong Nhat Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, but due to the long distance, the lack of people at home, only the mother and child, and the high cost, the doctor at the upper level transferred her to Thong Nhat General Hospital for dialysis.
"Three times a week, my daughter has to rent a car to take me to the hospital, wait for me for dialysis for about 4 hours, then take me home. Although the distance from home to the hospital is shorter than before, it is still far, and I am old and weak, making it very difficult for me to move around. Because I am sick, I have to take medicine and eat very strictly, if I neglect it, the disease will get worse," Ms. H. shared.
Ms. Luong Thi Kim Cuc, Head Nurse of the Artificial Kidney Department, Thong Nhat General Hospital, said that the oldest patient in the department is 90 years old, the youngest is 20 years old. Recently, the department has received a number of patients transferred from children's hospital because the patients are over 16 years old. Most patients with chronic kidney failure have difficult family circumstances, poor health, and long treatment time in the hospital, so they cannot do normal jobs to earn extra income.
Dong Nai General Hospital is expected to perform the first kidney transplant on the occasion of the 80th National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (September 2, 1945 - September 2, 2025). If successful, this will be the first hospital in Dong Nai province to perform this technique.
How to prevent?
Specialist Doctor II Le Ngoc Yen, Head of the Department of Dialysis and Artificial Kidney, Dong Nai General Hospital, said that there are many causes leading to kidney failure and the increase and rejuvenation of chronic kidney failure. Among them, there are 3 main factors including diseases, unhealthy lifestyles and abuse of painkillers, antibiotics and functional foods.
Doctor Yen said that a passive lifestyle, eating a lot of sugar, and obesity increase the risk of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
People with the above diseases, if not controlled well, can easily lead to complications of kidney failure. Diseases such as glomerulonephritis, lupus erythematosus, polycystic kidney disease also contribute to silent kidney damage.
In today's modern life, many young people have a habit of little exercise, often consuming processed foods, high in salt, causing the kidneys to "work" very hard. In addition, many young people like to drink a lot of soft drinks instead of drinking water, holding urine, and prolonged stress are also harmful to the kidneys.
In particular, doctors are very concerned about the abuse of painkillers, antibiotics, dietary supplements, and oriental medicines of unknown origin. Using drugs without a doctor's prescription can cause kidney failure and affect many other organs in the body.
There are currently three main methods of treating chronic kidney failure: hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and kidney transplantation. Of these, hemodialysis is the method chosen by many people, because kidney transplantation is very expensive and donor kidneys are very scarce. Although peritoneal dialysis has many advantages, helping patients avoid having to go to the hospital three times a week for dialysis, many people are not bold enough to do it at home without the support of medical staff.
To prevent kidney failure, doctors recommend that patients with underlying diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure need to manage their disease well by following the doctor's treatment regimen. At the same time, do not use drugs indiscriminately; maintain a reasonable weight; have a healthy diet, reduce salt intake; drink enough water; limit alcohol, do not smoke; exercise regularly; reduce stress...
Hanh Dung
Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/y-te/202507/phong-ngua-benh-suy-than-man-8fe0ce1/
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