Pre-end stage chronic renal failure: the jeddah kidney center experience.

A retrospective review of data of pre-end stage renal disease patients being followed-up at the Jeddah Kidney Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia was performed. A total of 99 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. There were 58 males (58.6%) and 87 were Saudis (87.9%). The mean age of the patients was 49.5 years (11-90 years). Diabetes was the commonest cause (29.2%) followed by unknown etiology in 20.2%. Hypertension was a predominant co-morbid factor seen in 83.8% of the patients. Optimal control of blood pressure was achieved in 30% of the patients, an area where improvement is required. The mean serum creatinine at first visit to nephrology service of 300 micromol/l reflects delayed referral from other services. The levels of calcium, phosphate, cholesterol, albumin and hemoglobin were satisfactory. Our study suggests that more efforts are needed to promote early referral of patients with chronic renal failure to nephrology care. Also, greater emphasis is needed towards achieving rigid blood pressure control.