National kidney dialysis and transplant registries in Latin America: how to implement and improve them

• Main Authors: María Carlota González-Bedat, Guillermo Javier Rosa-Diez, Juan Manuel Fernández-Cean, Pedro Ordúñez, Alejandro Ferreiro, Walter Douthat
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish; Portuguese
• Published: Pan American Health Organization 2015
• Subjects: Sistema de registros; diálisis renal; diálisis peritoneal; trasplante de riñon; América Latina; Medicine; R; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/0307b1d98a684f6c9f8360a27a4d06b6

The Strategic Plan of the Pan American Health Organization, 2014-2019, Championing Health: Sustainable Development and Equityrecognizes that "Chronic kidney disease, caused mainly by complications of diabetes and hypertension, has increased in the Region." This Plan includes the first concrete goal on chronic kidney disease: to achieve a prevalence rate for renal replacement therapy of at least 700 patients per million population by 2019. National dialysis and transplant registries (DTR) are a useful tool for epidemiological research, health care planning, and quality improvement. Their success depends on the quality of their data and quality control procedures. This article describes the current situation of national DTRs in the Region and the content of their information and health indicators, and it offers recommendations for creating and maintaining them. It points to their heterogeneity or absence in some countries, in line with the inequities that patients face in access to renal replacement therapy. The complete lack of information in Caribbean countries prevents their inclusion in this communication, which requires immediate attention.