Primary Health Care approach to managing chronic kidney disease

Abstract

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a growing global health issue among ageing populations, driven by increasing diabetes and hypertension. Managing advanced stages of CKD with dialysis or transplants is costly. Early stages often have no symptoms, making early detection important for prevention. Primary care providers can help identify and manage CKD early by performing annual screening for high-risk patients, including blood pressure checks, urine tests for albuminuria or proteinuria and estimating glomerular filtration rate from serum creatinine. For those with CKD, renal protective measures are essential to slow disease progression. This narrative review highlights the critical role of primary care providers in the comprehensive and integrated CKD management.