One of the objectives of Polish Registry of Renal Replacement Therapy in Children established on 31st Dec. 2000 was to collect complete data on etiology of end stage renal disease (ESRD) in polish children.
Material and methods: Data on 469 patients (251 boys, 218 girls) aged 0-22 years treated with renal replacement therapy (RRT) at 13 pediatric dialysis units in Poland from 2000 to 2004 were analyzed. The mean age at start of dialysis was 10 years and 3 months. Renal diseases were defined according to EDTA coding system. Data is presented for the whole group, in 5-year age groups and separately for both sexes.
Results: Congenital and genetic renal diseases were the cause of ESRF in 56% of the polish population of children and adolescents on RRT. 39% of causes were acquired diseases, 5% remained unidentified. Congenital and genetic causes dominated in children < 5 years of age (71%). They accounted for 49%, 61% and 45% of causes in the consecutive 5-year age groups. The most numerous group of congenital diseases leading to ESRF were uropathies 37% and 25% of causes in the consecutive age groups. In boys the most frequent uropathy was obstructive uropathy (25%), the majority caused by posterior urethral valves. In girls the most frequent uropathies were reflux nephropathy (10%) and nephropathy secondary to neurogenic bladder (9%). Uropathies were followed by renal hypo-dysplasia without urinary tract anomalies (11%) and cystic diseases (10%).
Conclusions: Congenital kidney anomalies and genetic diseases are the leading cause of end-stage renal disease in children up to 15 years of age.