Pharmacists have made a discovery while screening at-risk patients for chronic kidney disease (CKD). In a recent study, pharmacists found previously unrecognized disease in one of every 6.4 patients tested.
The study’s primary author, Dr. Yazid Al Hamarneh, a pharmacist, said that the results came as a surprise to researchers. “We knew that we would find unrecognized cases, but not that many.” The study’s findings were recently published in the Canadian Pharmacists Journal.
The Canadian Medical Association Journal reports that chronic kidney disease affects one in 10 Canadian adults. The disease is often missed because patients do not exhibit any symptoms in the early stages. Undiagnosed CKD can have life-threatening long-term effects, such as heart disease and stroke.
