YNC in Latin America: teaching about acute kidney injury
The number of nephrologists is growing in Bolivia and an upcoming YNC workshop hopes to increase knowledge of AKI in the country and across bordering regions.
Speaking to Rolando Claure-Del Granado based at the Universidad Mayor de San Simon School of Medicine in Cochabamba, it becomes clear that nephrology is growing in Bolivia thanks to several collaborations.
There is always more work to be done, he says: “We need to do more about early detection and ways of preventing acute kidney injury in this region, as it has an impact on the rise of chronic kidney disease.”
He is a member of ISN Young Nephrologist Committee, the ISN Latin America Regional Board and the Acute Kidney Injury Committee of the Latin American Society of Nephrology and Hypertension.
In this role, he decided to organize the first young nephrologist workshop in Bolivia on November 12, 2015 during the national meeting of the Bolivian Society of Nephrology in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
He says: “Much of the population doesn’t know about the issues surrounding acute kidney injury (AKI). Once they get AKI, they stand more chance of developing chronic kidney disease, which leads to dialysis treatment or the possibility of transplantation.”
To solve this issue, young nephrologists and related professions need to be made aware of the importance of early detection and prevention when it comes to AKI. The one-day workshop will be devoted to AKI and the ISN 0by25 initiative, which states that nobody should die of preventable and treatable AKI by 2025.
The morning session will focus on “meeting the experts” with an interactive discussion of four cases of acute dialysis, looking at fluid management, patient follow-up after diagnosis, detection and prevention. The afternoon lectures will cover the different aspects of AKI.
This will be the first time the YNC organizes a workshop in Bolivia, the last workshop in Latin America was organized in Brazil. The aim is to reach out to young nephrologists from surrounding countries, including Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. Ten travel grants are being offered to young nephrologists from Paraguay to attend the workshop.
Currently the number of nephrologists in Bolivia has increased to 56. They are aged between 35 and 44 years old and are located in the city hospitals so it is still a challenge to get treatment in rural areas. Peritoneal dialysis continues to be the best treatment in areas with no access to purified water or electricity.
