Tratamiento conservador ante la Enfermedad Renal Crónica

Abstract

The ageing of so-called developed societies is not only evident, it also seems unstoppable. However, increased life expectancy inexorably leads to more chronic diseases and dependency, situations which in an attempt to achieve an acceptable state of health and well-being are having a huge impact on socio-economic costs. In end-stage renal disease, replacement treatment with dialysis is fully justified as its effectiveness is unquestionable. However, the inclusion of elderly patients on dialysis is a long-standing debate whose criteria have been modified over the years. When dialysis programmes started, the aim was to facilitate the return of relatively healthy people to society and work, therefore, until the 1980s, in countries such as the United Kingdom or Canada very few patients over 65 years old received haemodialysis¹. Progress in techniques and increased funding have resulted in elderly patients being able to access specialised units without age limits, and today the population over 65 years of age has far exceeded two thirds of all patients, with inclusion in dialysis of patients over 80 years of age not being exceptional^1,2.