Peritoneal Dialysis International, Vol. 37, pp. 155–158 www.PDIConnect.com 0896-8608/17 $3.00 + .00 Copyright © 2017 International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis 155 PERITONEAL DIALYSIS TO TREAT PATIENTS WITH ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY—THE SAVING YOUNG LIVES EXPERIENCE IN WEST AFRICA: PROCEEDINGS OF THE SAVING YOUNG LIVES SESSION AT THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF DIALYSIS IN WEST AFRICA, DAKAR, SENEGAL, DECEMBER 2015 Niang Abdou, 1 Sampson Antwi, 2 Laurence Adonis Koffi, 3 Francis Lalya, 4 Victoria May Adabayeri, 5 Norah Nyah, 6 Dennis Palmer, 6 Ariane Brusselmans, 7 Brett Cullis, 8 John Feehally, 7 Mignon McCulloch, 9 William Smoyer, 10 and Fredric O. Finkelstein 11 Cheikh Anta Diop University, 1 Dakar, Senegal; KATH Hospital, 2 Kumasi, Ghana; University Hospital of Yopougon, 3 Côte d’Ivoire; University Hospital CNHU-HKM, 4 Cotonou, Benin; Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, 5 Accra, Ghana; Mbingo Baptist Hospital, 6 Cameroon; International Society of Nephrology, 7 Brussels, Belgium; Greys Hospital, 8 Pietermaritzburg, South Africa; Red Cross Hospital, 9 Cape Town, South Africa; Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Department of Pediatrics, 10 The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio; and Yale University, 11 New Haven, CT, USA SPECIAL ARTICLE In December 2015, as part of the First African Dialysis Confer- ence organized in Dakar, Senegal, 5 physicians from West African countries who have participated in the Saving Young Lives Program reviewed their experiences establishing peritoneal dialysis (PD) programs to treat patients with acute kidney injury (AKI). Thus far, nearly 200 patients have received PD treatment in these coun- tries. The interaction and discussion amongst the participants at the meeting was meaningful and informative. The presentations highlighted the creativity, conviction, and determination of the physicians in overcoming the various barriers and challenges they encountered to establish PD/AKI programs. Hopefully, these successes and the increased awareness of the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of AKI will inspire much needed support from government, hospital, and international organizations. Perit Dial Int 2017; 37(2):155–158 https://doi.org/10.3747/pdi.2016.00178 T he Saving Young Lives Program (SYL) was established in 2012 to develop sustainable peritoneal dialysis (PD) programs to treat patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) in low-resource settings. The details of the program and its goals and objec- tives have been recently reviewed (1). In brief, SYL represents a partnership amongst 4 international nephrology organizations (ISN [International Society of Nephrology], IPNA [International Pediatric Nephrology Association], ISPD [International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis], and EuroPD) and the Sustainable Kidney Care Foundation (SKCF). The international organizations provide support for education and training, while SKCF provides cuffed PD catheters and commercially prepared dialysis supplies to initi- ate new programs. No cyclers are provided and all PD exchanges are done manually. From its inception, the plan has been to provide basic support in terms of education and training of physi- cians and nurses and funding for supplies to start PD programs for patients with AKI needing renal replacement therapy (RRT), with the programs becoming fiscally sustainable after 2 to 3 years. Details of the model have been described elsewhere (1). Thus far, 10 programs have been established, 5 of which are in West Africa. During the First African Dialysis Conference organized in Dakar, Senegal, in December 2015, participants from these 5 West African SYL programs were invited to discuss their experiences establishing PD programs to manage patients with AKI and share their successes and challenges in develop- ing their programs. This report summarizes the presentations at the meeting and plans for the SYL Program moving forward in this region. It also highlights the enormous benefits of sharing and network- ing that a regional conference can provide—the development of peer relationships and the sharing of knowledge, tools, and resources that enables individual programs to adapt creatively to the demands of their particular circumstances. Table 1 sum- marizes the number of patients treated at each center. MBINGO HOSPITAL, CAMEROON The Mbingo Baptist Hospital is a primary care and referral hospital located in northwestern Cameroon. The hospital is Correspondence to: Fredric O. Finkelstein, 136 Sherman Avenue, New Haven, CT, 06511 USA. fof@comcast.net Received 1 July 2016; accepted 22 August 2016. This single copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. For permission to reprint multiple copies or to order presentation-ready copies for distribution, contact Multimed Inc. at marketing@multi-med.com by guest on June 16, 2020 http://www.pdiconnect.com/ Downloaded from