Pattern of Kidney Disease among Children Admitted in a Tertiary Health Institution in South West Nigeria—A 7-Year Review

Background: Kidney diseases in children are gradually been reported more with increasing awareness in the developing countries. This manuscript mainly investigated the pattern of kidney disease among children admitted in our hospital over a 7-year period, the treatment interventions given and the outcome. The data obtained was analyzed using SPSS version 16. Descriptive statistics showing frequencies and percentages were used. The Independent Samples T-Test was used to compare mean age of both male and female patients. The result showed 102 cases of paediatric renal diseases which constituted 1.7% of the total patients (6014) admitted over this period. Fifty-nine (57.8%) of these renal cases were male while forty-three (42.2%) were female. The age range of the patients was 1 month to 16 years. The highest number of kidney diseases was reported among school-age children, 44 which constituted 43.1% of the total number with kidney disease while the least figure was recorded among newborns and infants. The most common childhood renal disease reported was urinary tract infection, 31 (30.4%), this was followed by acute kidney injury (AKI), 25 (24.5%) from various causes such as hypovolaemia, sepsis and haemoglobinuria. The various treatment modalities offered included medications, dialysis and surgical interventions. Eighty-two (80.4%) of those admitted were discharged to the Nephrology clinic after clinical improvement while 4 (3.9%) of them left against medical advice. Six (5.9%) of the total number of children with renal disease died and 10 (9.8%) were referred. In conclusion, the prevalence of renal diseases among children admitted as reported in the study was 1.7%, with school-age children more affected. Urinary tract infection was the most common renal disease seen in the studied population.