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Pregnancy in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) represents a significant challenge for nephrologists and healthcare professionals involved in the care pathway, especially in advanced stages of the disease and during dialysis. From an epidemiological standpoint, the exact percentage of women with CKD who become pregnant is unknown. It is estimated that stages 1 and 2 of kidney disease (where kidney function is still preserved or mildly impaired with persistent albuminuria) affect up to 3% of women of childbearing age (20-39 years), while stages 3-5 (glomerular filtration rate

Renal transplantation represents the best treatment for end-stage kidney disease, leading to improved quality of life and life-expectancy for most of the patients. However, gender disparities are evident both in access and in outcomes of kidney transplantation. Women on dialysis are less likely to be on the waiting list for kidney transplantation and to receive an organ from a deceased donor or living donor. Several biological and sociocultural aspects could explain this disparity. On the contrary, more women than men are living kidney donors. Italian women are the first organ donors for living transplants in Europe. The gender difference in living donation is certainly affected by different comorbidities, but such a marked trend highlights a greater predisposition to donate of women, especially in the family context. Some differences are also found in kidney outcomes, even not fully understood. Our paper analyzes the main differences in different aspects of kidney transplantation related to gender, including nutritional aspects.

Dialysis patients are often affected by protein energy wasting and the maintenance of an optimal nutritional state is a difficult goal to achieve. Moreover protein energy wasting is one of the strongest risk factors for mortality in chronic dialysis patients. To estimate glucose absorption in peritoneal dialysis is essential to determine patient’s dietary energy requirements and to prevent possible metabolic complications. The currently accepted methods of estimating glucose absorption are two. The first one is based on the average glucose absorption of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and is calculated with the Grodstein et al. formula. The second one is based on the Peritoneal equilibration test curves (D/D0 formula, Bodnar et al.) and takes into account transport characteristics. None of the two formulas perfectly calculated the absolute glucose absorption, even if the D/D0 is much closer to the true value, compared to Grodstein et al. formula. In this paper we described the multidisciplinary management experience of peritoneal dialysis patients, with a focus on the estimation of the patient’s energy requirements. Analyzing glucose absorption in a systematic way and monitoring the changes in glucose absorption during the time could significantly contribute to adjusting nutritional treatment. However it is always necessary to critically evaluate the results obtained by both formulas.

In Italy, starting from 2015, the date of publication of the guidelines on the 2014-2020 Digital Growth Strategy, technological evolution in medicine has provided encouraging results. The term telemedicine is now in common use, and it is also indicated at an encyclopedic level as “the set of technical and health care monitoring tools, created through systems designed to provide quick access to both medical specialists and patients, regardless of the place where they are respectively located”. Nowadays, in the COVID era, the need for social distancing has highlighted the contribution of digital technology to healthcare in terms of access to care and healthcare spending. With regard to chronic kidney disease, telemedicine has always proved essential in improving patients’ quality of life, as in the case of peritoneal dialysis. The remote management and monitoring of patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis has not only proved to radically change and improve patients’ quality of life in replacement therapy, but has also reduced costs. There are some situations in which telemonitoring can guarantee the maintenance of an adequate quality of life for patients in the different stages of the disease. Thanks to the constant commitment of some groups of professionals where the largest part is represented by the “pink quota”, it was possible to experiment and implement evaluation protocols for the renal patient in conservative and replacement treatment in some of the most central aspects of care: medical and dietary therapy.

The goal of the World Kidney Day 2020 (WKD) is “the promotion of public health by ensuring universal, equitable and sustainable access to care, making access to health for all people and social categories equitable”. Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a complex and “demanding” health problem for patients and professionals, particularly in the more advanced stages of the disease. In addition to factors such as the so-called systemic conditions and risk factors, sex-related factors intervene in women, which can further complicate the CKD trend. For these reasons, one of the objectives of the World Kidney Day is that prevention and early treatment are included in the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and that common strategies are implemented to promote awareness of this pathology. The woman has always played a central role in the “coordination” of family life and “taking care”, a role transversal to the different ethnic groups, as evidenced also by the data relating to living kidney donation. This article gives a reflection on some issues related to prevention and treatment of CKD from a female perspective, such as what strategies to identify to implement prevention in the family starting from nutrition, such as the advice for the preparation of a diet plan respectful of the traditions of the country of origin, the identification and treatment of risk factors in order to implement strategies aimed at prevention dedicated to the female world and which style distinguishes the female approach to care | (Gender_nephrology)

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