Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of Hemodialysis in a New Center in Northern Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Hemodialysis is the most common renal replacement therapy (RRT) modality in Africa and few countries enjoy reimbursement from the government to fund it. Africa contributes <10% of the total RRT patients worldwide this is mainly due to high cost. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: We aimed to review the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients requiring hemodialysis in our center over a 7 years period, to highlight the enormous challenges encountered. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study of patients aged 15 years and above that was seen between April 2010 and March 2017 at the Hemodialysis unit of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital. Information was extracted from the patient's case folders and dialysis charts. RESULTS: In total, 226 patients had hemodialysis over the period, 124 (54.9%) were male and 102 (49.1%) were female. Sixty-one (27%) patients had acute kidney injury (AKI), 143 (63.3%) had chronic kidney disease (CKD), whereas 22 (9.7%) had acute-on-CKD. A total of 2215 sessions of hemodialysis were done in the period, of which 782 (35.3%) were for AKI and 469 (21.2%) for acute on CKD. A total of 138 (60.6%) patients were discharged and 58 deaths were recorded. CONCLUSION: Although there is rapid proliferation of hemodialysis facilities in the country, many patients could not afford adequate hemodialysis. Inadequate dialysis due to finances was the main cause of death in these category of patients.