CHENNAI: On World Kidney Day, Health Minister Ma Subramanian launched a statewide survey to document the burden of chronic kidney diseases in Tamil Nadu, at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) on Thursday.
The survey will be carried out by the Institute of Nephrology and Department of Community Medicine at RGGGH with funding from the National Health Mission, Tamil Nadu, and under the guidance of the Directorate of Public Health.
The survey will have 5,300 participants selected from across the State and it will be completed in five days. The field workers will screen the study participants for chronic kidney diseases (CKD). Their blood sugar and creatinine levels will be checked. Urine and blood will be collected for testing.
The participants will also be given questionnaires, said Dr N Gopalakrishnan, Director, Institute of Nephrology, RGGGH. The team at the RGGGH had recently identified a CKD hotspot in Sengadu Village in Sriperumbudur after four patients from the same locality were diagnosed with CKD and required dialysis.
The health minister handed over a testing kit for the survey to a field worker at an event in RGGGH on Thursday. The minister also inaugurated a 24-hour chest clinic at Tower-II of RGGGH. Doctors said those who experience chest pain can come to the clinic any time for screening, so that treatment can be started if it’s because of a heart problem.
Subramanian also released a booklet on how to protect kidneys and primary and secondary care. According to the press release, around 100 patients are on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis at RGGGH and 3,000 dialysis are offered at the hospital monthly.
Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan, Director of Medical Education Dr R Narayana Babu, and Dean of RGGGH Dr E Theranirajan were among those who attended the event.