Screening for renal insufficiency: is it worth while? is it feasible?

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Abstract
The relentlessly rising incidence of end-stage renal failure (IRF) is a major problem for all public health systems in Western countries. For more than 10 years, the number of new patients accepted on renal replacement therapy (RRT) has been increasing by about 9% per year in the USA [1], and the increment in most European countries is at least about 4% per year. In consequence, the prevalence of patients on dialysis is continuously growing, inasmuch as it is not compensated for by a corresponding annual number of kidney transplantations, and constitutes a heavy burden for national health budgets.