Patients receive hemodialysis treatment at Department of Urology of Hưng Yên General Hospital. — VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kiên

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese and US experts have shared experience in treating patients with end-stage chronic kidney failure at an online conference on Wednesday.

The conference was held as the number of patients with underlying disease including kidney problems were increasing in Việt Nam.

It was jointly organised by the Health Ministry and the US Embassy in Việt Nam.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Health Minister Trần Văn Thuấn said chronic kidney disease was a non-infectious condition which was often caused by diabetes and high blood pressure. It was a serious public health problem.

“Statistics and scientific evidence showed that in the world and in Việt Nam, in particular, the elderly and those with chronic diseases, especially end-stage chronic kidney failure, suffered the most amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

The implementation of social distancing and COVID-19 prevention and control measures has been a challenge for kidney care services such as dialysis and peritoneal dialysis at medical clinics, he said.

Since July 25, Việt Nam has recorded 38 COVID-19 patients who have been treated with haemodialysis for years and also suffered other underlying and chronic diseases.

Given the fact that the number of COVID-19 cases is on the rise and there is a high fatality rate among those with chronic diseases, foreign experts advised Việt Nam to conduct peritoneal dialysis at home to minimise the risk of infection at hospitals.

They also recommended the country to consider using automatic peritoneal dialysis with remote prescription function to treat patients with artificial kidneys, which is an effective method the US is applying.

According to US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, kidney disease always poses challenges to the health sector and the whole community.

He said experts from the United States were willing to share policies related to payment or legal tools applied to achieve the goal of preventing kidney failure and increase the rate of peritoneal dialysis and kidney transplant. — VNS