PROFILE OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE FOLLOWED UP AT NEPHROLOGY UNITS

Objective: Characterize the profile of children and adolescents with chronic renal failure followed up at nephrology units in the town of Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil. Methods: This is a quantitative, retrospective and descriptive, research which investigated socio-demographic, clinical, and therapeutic variables in the medical records of 35 children and adolescents followed up at nephrology units by June 2010. Results: The main etiology was chronic glomerulonephritis (34.2%); 88.6% of patients were diagnosed and started treatment between 10 and 20 years of age. The most prevalent comorbidities were systemic arterial hypertension (51.4%) and diabetes mellitus (48.6%). The main associated clinical manifestations were systemic arterial hypertension (51.4%), uremia (48.6%), edema (42.9%), and anemia (31.4%); 97.1% of patients underwent hemodialysis. Most patients continued on hemodialysis (40%) up to 2 years of treatment (54.3%). Conclusion: This study allowed one to know this profile of patients, hitherto unknown, and it may contribute to the planning of care actions aimed at this clientele.