DAVAO CITY – The National Kidney Transplant Institute (NKTI) launched over the weekend the country’s first tracking system for persons with hypertension and diabetes, who are at risk of developing kidney disease in the village of Dumoy, Talomo District, here.
In partnership with the City Health Office (CHO) and the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), Saturday’s (June 16) launching was followed by a forum on Renal Health and Disease Prevention for Diabetes and Hypertension patients at the Bastida Elementary School in Dumoy.
Barangay Dumoy was chosen to be the pilot site for the tracking system because it has a high number of persons with hypertension and diabetes visiting health centers run by the city government, said Dr. Theresa Bad-Ang, a nephrologist at the SPMC and the spokesperson of the Renal Disease Control Program (REDCOP) in Davao.
Bad-Ang said REDCOP is looking at tracking 426 persons with hypertension and diabetes, whose conditions will be monitored every month through medical check-ups and medication. Persons with hypertension and diabetes are considered high-risk cases in developing kidney diseases, she added.
She said the patients’ response to medications to prevent them from developing kidney disease and undergo dialysis will be regularly checked by CHO personnel, she said. They were identified during a screening and detection tests on June 11, 13 and 14.
Dr. Susan Jorge, the program manager of the Renal Disease Control Program (REDCOP-NKTI), said Davao City has the high number of dialysis patients in the region.
Davao Region also has the third highest number of dialysis patients in the country, tailing Region 3 and the Calabarzon.
In 2015 alone, Jorge said, Davao City has 987 dialysis patients of the 1,182 total number of patients in the region. She said the number is growing by 10 percent every year.
All over the country, Jorge said 44 percent of the 18,000 dialysis patients have secondary diabetes mellitus. Hypertension and diabetes could be hereditary.
Bad-ang said the years from 2000 to 2004, NKTI saw a bigger picture of kidney cases because of foods available.
She said hypertension and diabetes are lifestyle diseases, and emphasized the need for people to watch the food they eat, especially when they are growing old and that they should avoid salty and sugary foods. It is also important to indulge in physical activities and to drink plenty of water.
Jorge hopes that the Davao pilot activity will be replicated across the country. (Lilian C. Mellejor/PNA)
