Abstract
The total number of end-stage kidney disease patients treated with dialysis in 2019 in Kuwait was 2230, with a 6% increase from the year before. Dialysis prevalence was 465 per million population (PMP) and dialysis incidence was100 PMP. Kuwaiti nationals represented 70% of the dialysis population and males represented 52%. Of the same population, 59% had diabetes. Hepatitis C virus affected <4% and hepatitis B virus affected <2% of the dialysis population. The annual mortality rate was stable at around 12%. Hemodialysis (HD) share was 89%, with 48% of HD patients getting HD via catheter, 54% on hemodiafiltration (HDF), and 50% dialyzing against a calcium bath of 1.75. Patients getting <3 times/week of HD constituted 10% and patients spending <3.5 h/session constituted 11%. We had only 20 dialysis patients under the age of 12 years (12 on HD). The major challenges faced included poor peritoneal dialysis penetration, the unacceptable high rates of catheters as primary HD vascular access, partly due to lack of chronic kidney disease (CKD) clinics and lack of vascular access coordinators, and the unexplained high rates of use of calcium bath of 1.75. There is also a need for a national campaign for early detection and prevention of CKD to reduce rates of end-stage renal disease.