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Pakistan is the 6th populous country in the world and is 36th largest nation by total area. Pakistan’s overall health issues are protean and comprise of a dual burden of communicable and noncommunicable (NCD) diseases, large child population, high maternal and Under-5 mortality rate with widespread malnutrition in children and worst provisions in terms of health services. It is one of the two countries in the world where polio is still endemic. Major causes of high neonatal, infant and Under-5 mortality rates include asphyxia, low birth weight, neonatal sepsis, malnutrition, pneumonia, diarrhea and other vaccine preventable diseases. NCDs, including kidney diseases now are gaining importance as cause of mortality and morbidity in children. However in the wake of more pressing public health issues, kidney diseases along with other chronic childhood problems have been relegated as problems of secondary importance in a country like Pakistan. Data on the prevalence and incidence of kidney disease in children is difficult to obtain in Pakistan and only a glimpse of tantalizing fragments of epidemiology can be appreciated in the form of hospital data. Pakistan is a heterogeneous country with different socio-economic and geographical factors which play important roles in prevalence and pattern of renal disease in Pakistan1. Pediatric Nephrology is a relatively new specialty in this country with very few well established centers and there is lack of proper national registry for pediatric renal patients, hence available data is scanty and is based on statistics of tertiary care hospitals. There are two types of kidney disease in children, acute and chronic. Acute diseases appear suddenly but are generally short-lived, reversible if treated promptly and adequately. Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is a common and serious problem in children and its overall incidence is high in hospitalized children (5%) and even higher in preterm babies, neonates with asphyxia and in intensive care settings (as high as 30-50%). Acute diarrhea, dysentery, streptococcal infections of throat and skin, malaria and other infections associated with rampant malnutrition are directly and indirectly causative factors of AKI. In contrast to developed world, where there has been shift in etiology from primary renal disease to more of secondary causes occurring as an aftermath of use of advanced technology such as surgery for congenital heart disease, transplants and care of sick children. Introduction of RIFLE criteria2 by Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative Group (ADQI) and classification of AKI by Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) has widened the spectrum of AKI and minor deteriorations in GFR can be detected early and intervened appropriately with the result that more and more cases of AKI are being recognized. Infections of urinary tract are one of the most common infections in pediatric population and may lead to significant acute morbidity and irreversible renal damage and affect at least 3% of boys and 11% of girls. Diagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI) in young children is important as a marker for urinary tract abnormalities3. Injudicious use of antibiotics in Pakistan result into missing of these infections and ultimate delay in diagnosis and inadequate management may lead to complications like vesicoureteric reflux, renal scarring and chronic kidney disease

Tahir Masood Ahmed. (2016) Pediatric Kidney Disease in Pakistan, Pakistan Pediatric Journal, Volume 40, Issue 1.
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