Outcomes of rationing dialysis therapy in biopsy-proven end-stage renal disease in South Africa

Background: Due to poverty, many countries of sub-Saharan Africa suffer a severe burden of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), the cause of which is often unidentified. We sought to identify biopsy-proven causes of ESRD in Cape Town, South Africa, and to determine the outcome of these patients. Methods: Records of biopsies reported as ESRD over a 10-year period were selected for analysis. The demographic, clinical and biochemical characteristics of the patients at the time of biopsy were documented. The decision of the committee that assesses the eligibility of patients for long-term renal replacement therapy (RRT) was documented, and if a patient was not accepted the reasons for the rejection were noted. Results: Chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) was the most frequent cause of ESRD (31.2%); human immunodeficiency virus-associated nephropathy (HIVAN) accounted for 12.5% of ESRD cases. Sixty-six patients (45.8%) were never reviewed by the assessment committee for placement in the dialysis program. Of the remaining 78 patients (54.2%) reviewed for RRT, only 48/78 (61.5%) were selected. A higher frequency of patients with HIVAN were not accepted for RRT (17.7%) than patients with HIVAN who were accepted (2.1%) (p=0.008). Social factors such as lack of housing, alcohol abuse, illicit drug abuse, lack of transportation and lack of family/social support accounted for 56.7% of patients not being accepted for RRT. Conclusion: There needs to be a development of programs amongst Africans to provide effective solutions that tackle the burden of ESRD, especially related to the increasing prevalence of HIVAN.