Benefits of screening for Chronic Kidney Disease

The number of patients on renal replacement therapy has doubled every decade since 1980, and prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the early stages is also markedly increased. In addition, CKD is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The only effective approach to this problem is prevention and early detection of CKD. In recent years, screening studies have been carried out in several countries. The findings have defined the scope of the problem and indicated which population groups are at risk of developing CKD. The most numerous are patients with hypertension and diabetes. Also, these studies have indicated that screening should include measurement of serum creatinine for eGFR as well as urine albumin. Early detection of CKD allows proper management that could slow down CKD progression, prevent cardiovascular and other comorbidities and enable timely initiation of dialysis. Screening for CKD could be best managed by partnership between primary care physicians and nephrologists. It is necessary to educate primary care physicians about CKD, its risk factors and associated co-morbidities. Although multiple benefits of screening for CKD are doubtless, the results obtained by screening should be interpreted with caution, bearing in mind that screening detects only markers of kidney disease but not the disease itself.