Insidious chronic kidney disease among elderly people in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital
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Abstract
Background: Renal function reduces with age. The early stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) often go unnoticed, preventing timely intervention and thereby increasing morbidity and mortality. It is, therefore, imperative to assess the renal clearance which detects the early stages of kidney disease.
Aim: This study aimed to assess the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in elderly people in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Port Harcourt, Nigeria, using the Cockcroft–Gault formula, and to evaluate the associated risk factors.
Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Participants were recruited from the Orthopaedic Clinic of the UPTH. Fifty patients aged between 60 and 85 years were recruited. Venous blood was obtained for creatinine assessment; weight, height and resting blood pressure measurements were taken and the body mass index and creatinine clearance were calculated. Microsoft Excel and SPSS software version 18 were used for the statistical analysis. Pearson’s correlation was used to assess statistical significance with P = 0.05.
Results: There were 17 males and 33 females. Fourteen percent of the total patients had Stage 3 CKD (GFR: 30–59) and just half of the patients (14%) had a plasma creatinine value above the reference range. Ninety percent of the patients were overweight, 10% were obese and 51% were hypertensive. There was a weak but insignificant positive correlation between obesity, hypertension and kidney dysfunction. There was no obvious clinical feature among those with Stage 3 CKD, a stage when critical medical decisions need to be made.
Conclusions: Most patients had different degrees of renal impairment with normal plasma creatinine values. Routine renal function assessment and estimated GFR should be done for any elderly person presenting to the hospital with at least one cardiovascular risk.
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