title: Estimated prevalence of childhood end-stage renal disease in the state of São Paulo.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the prevalence of pediatric end-stage renal disease and evaluate demographics and renal disease characteristics in state of São Paulo over the year 2008.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational, descriptive, and cross-sectional study based on a population sample with subjects < 18 years. The data collecting assumed three forms: 1. A questionnaire for dialysis units; 2. Search in the Transplant Center to determine the number and characteristics of patients who had been in a transplant waiting list over the study period; 3. Search in the database of patients registered at the Latin American Collaborative Registry of Pediatric Kidney Transplantation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data from 301 patients aged 9.0 ± 5.8, including 140 girls (46.5%), resulting in an estimate prevalence of 23.4 cases per million age-related population (pmarp). The age group most frequently found was 10 to 15 years (32.2%), and urinary tract malformation was the most usual known etiology (24.9%). Most children underwent kidney transplantation (62.1%) and among subjects on dialysis, hemodialysis was predominant (71.2%). The Sistema Único de Saúde - Unified National Health System - (SUS) provided the financial support for treatments.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of 23.4 cases pmarp found by the authors is lower than that reported in Western world. We believe data were underestimated in the present study, as few dialysis units returned the completed questionnaire. This potential bias does not invalidate the exploratory character of results. Further mechanisms for retrospective and earlier data collecting on pediatric chronic renal disease (CRD) are needed so that the burden of this serious health condition can be appropriately sized up.
authors.affiliation: Service of Pediatric Nephrology, Hospital Samaritano de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. pckoch@uol.com.br
authors.forename: Paulo Cesar Koch
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Nogueira
authors.forename: Luciana de Santis
authors.initials: Lde S
authors.lastname: Feltran
authors.forename: Maria Fernanda
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Camargo
authors.forename: Eliseth Ribeiro
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Leão
authors.forename: Jennifer Rcs
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Benninghoven
authors.forename: Natália Z
authors.initials: NZ
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.forename: Luiz A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Ricardo C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Sesso
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017678:Sex Distribution