ISN member Sharma talks AKI prevention with Nepal’s Labour Minister
Sanjib Kumar Sharma, long-standing member of ISN, recently met Nepal’s Labor Minister to discuss acute kidney injury (AKI) prevention. He talked about the ISN 0by25 initiative and the ongoing efforts of the 0by25 pilot studies.
AKI is a common disease for labour workers. He says: ‘These patients are a particularly vulnerable group due to the presence of infection, water and food borne disease, dehydration and trauma.’
A former ISN Fellow, Dr.Sharma is based at the B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences in Dharan in Nepal, where he heads the Department of Internal Medicine. He is also the lead of a new implementation project called the Kidney Care Network, aimed at improving the care of AKI patients in in low-resource settings.
Building on the results of the 0by25 pilot study, he will lead an implementation project to sustainably transform AKI care, working at the B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, AMDA Hospital & Dhankuta District Hospital.
The project will also be conducted in centers across Nepal. Education and training in AKI care will be provided by local experts for all relevant healthcare workers. It will help identify patients at high risk for AKI, based on a validated clinical risk score, supported by point of care testing for serum creatinine as a marker of kidney function.
