Nephrology, dialysis and transplantation in Turkey

Abstract

The establishment of the Turkish Society of Nephrology (TSN) in 1970 coincided with that of many western European nephrology societies. The TSN organized the 15th ERA-EDTA Congress in Istanbul in 1978, earlier than many European Countries, and currently has 286 active members. At present, Turkey has 161 nephrologists, which equals 2.5 nephrologists per million population (p.m.p.). The number of original articles submitted by Turkish authors to the journal Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation ranks 7th-8th amongst total submissions to the journal. Turkey also ranks 2nd-4th in the number of abstracts submitted to recent ERA-EDTA Congresses. With 18 063 patients undergoing intermittent haemodialysis treatment in 348 dialysis centres, Turkey has the 5th largest chronic haemodialysis patient population among European countries. In addition, 1903 patients are currently undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. However, with a total of 4693 renal transplants since 1975, of which only 21.3% were of cadaveric origin, Turkey lags considerably behind other European countries in renal transplantation. In Turkey, the prevalence and incidence of renal replacement therapy (RRT) are at present 358 and 52 p.m.p. respectively, and the expansion rate of the RRT stock is 17% (HD 18.5%, CAPD 6%, and transplantation 1.7%). The yearly gross mortality rate of the total RRT population is 9.4%. The present priorities of the Turkish nephrological community include high-standard research activity and long-term, prospective clinical and epidemiological studies, an increase in the total number and percentage of cadaveric transplants, further improvement of the quality and cost-effectiveness of RRT, and finally the further development of scientific and educational collaboration with the world nephrological community.

Fatigue in advanced kidney disease

“…42 It may be that over time patients also begin to accept and adapt to the treatment regimen, which may positively impact fatigue. 77 In contrast, Letchmi et al 78 found a significant relationship between fatigue and dialysis vintage, with patients who had undergone treatment for more than 2 years experiencing high levels of fatigue. An explanation for the latter findings may be that, although with time patients become accustomed to the dialysis routine, their coping mechanisms in response to symptoms may remain unchanged.…”

Evaluation of Peritonitis Incidence, Etiology, Associated Factors and Prognosis of Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

“…Huang et al, compared complications associated with the PD method in 247 patients. Peritonitis incidence was signifi cantly lower in APD compared to CAPD patients (p<0.001) and diabetes had no impact on peritonitis (9). Newly developed Y systems and new communications systems that operate with "washing before fi lling" lowered the peritonitis incidence in CAPD patients (10).…”

The Effect of Anemia on Quality of Life and Self-Care Agency in Turkey Hemodialysis Patients

“…The distribution of patients who started to receive RRT in 2014 according to the type of RRT shows that 78.37% (55,890) of the patients received hemodialysis (HD) [1]. According to this data, Turkey ranks fifth among European countries in terms of patient populations receiving HD treatment [2].…”