HelloKidney.ai founder and nephrology specialist Chinta Rama Krishna submitting the pilot project screening report to Health and Family Welfare Commissioner S. Venkateswar recently.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The HelloKidney.ai pilot project has found that around 60% of people suffering from diabetes have some form of kidney ailment and 26% of the diabetes patients have silent and unknown advanced kidney disease.
Chinta Rama Krishna, nephrology specialist and founder of the HelloKidney.ai told The Hindu that the HelloKidney.ai initiative aimed at revolutionising the management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) at primary health centres (PHCs) through innovative integrated digital health technology solutions.
This pilot project, a collaboration between HelloKidney.ai and the National Health Mission-Government of Andhra Pradesh, targets early detection and standardised treatment to curb the progression of the CKD in the primary healthcare approach.
Detailing the outcomes of the pilot project, Dr. Rama Krishna said, “Implementing point-of-care testing and digital health tools, the project is engaged with PHCs on specific high-risk areas. As many as 2,070 people suffering from CKD have been screened in three months using mobile health applications and diagnostic tools, focusing on risk stratification and guideline-adherent management.”
He said that 983 people suffering from diabetes and 1,012 patients suffering from hypertension were screened for CKD. Further, 88 patients with a history of cardiovascular diseases were screened for CKD at urban PHCs. “As many as 264 patients (12.7%) were found to be obese with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than 30. Of the 2,070 people screening, 1,222 were found to be suffering from CKD (59%),” he said.
The patients include people from Uddanam region of Srikakulam district and A. Konduru mandal of NTR district, the hotbeds for CKD. Many patients were diagnosed with CKD at UPHCs in Guntur and Mangalagiri during the screening, he added.
Dr. Rama Krishna said that 70% of people with diabetes (477 of 680) who were screened at UPHCs were confirmed for CKD while 60% of the diabetic people (590 of 983) have some form of kidney disease.
Of 983 diabetes patients screened at UPHCs in Guntur and Mangalagiri, 686 have hypertension, 55 are associated with cardiovascular disease, and 142 patients (14%) are obese with BMI of more than 30.
Around 26% of people have advanced kidney disease and they were not aware of their health condition, Dr. Rama Krishna said.
HelloKidney.ai is a digital tool that is useful for screening, diagnosing, and managing early kidney diseases. It helps primary care physicians implement KDIGO guideline-directed treatment for patients to prevent kidney failure and save lives in primary healthcare settings, he added.
