Dr Tannor, who is also a Nephrologist at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), in Kumasi, said KATH was currently diagnosing more than 70 patients a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That rate, he said, was frightening and should be of concern to all stakeholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHere in Komfo Anokye hospital, we have two days of clinic for kidney-related diseases and each day we diagnose about 30 to 35 patients. So, we are talking about 60 or more per week. And this is outpatient department (OPD) basis,\u201d Dr Tannor stated in an interview with Daily Graphic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also noted that the number of patients with worse conditions and needing dialysis had also gone up. \u201cOn admission, those whose conditions are bad, and need dialysis, we have nothing less than three or four, I am being charitable with the numbers because sometimes we have more. So probably in a week, we can have about 30 of such cases,\u201d Dr Tannor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Factors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The kidney care advocate added that factors such as chronic use of some painkillers, consumption of slim teas, herbal medications, predisposition to infections such as HIV, hepatitis B were causes of kidney diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPeople have been taking a lot of painkillers, the chronic use of it, bleaching or some herbal medications and indeed with some toxins, slim tea etc. So let us be careful with anything at all that we take into the body which might end up coming out of the body through the urine,\u201d Dr Tannor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Medical check up<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr Tannor also appealed to Ghanaians to consider constant medical checkups as a duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe don\u2019t need to get ill before we go on health care. Run some tests, see how your sugar level is doing, blood pressure, check your weight, obesity is also a cause of kidney diseases,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On how the country is doing in terms of awareness creation about kidney diseases, he said it was terrible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are terrible, it could be better, the media are also needed in this fight. How I wish that some minister or celebrity would be interested in this and help with awareness,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n