Role of Pneumococcal Vaccination in Renal Diseases.

C kidney diseases (CKD) is defined as abnormalities of kidney structure or function, present for >3 months, with implications for heal th and i s ca tegor ized based on cause, GFR category, and albuminuria.1 A population screening of 4712 subjects in New Delhi2 suggested that there are approximately 7.85 million chronic renal failure (CRF) patients in India and etiologically diabetes accounted for 41% of all causes. The Screening and Early Evaluation of Kidney Disease (SEEK) study analyzed 5588 individuals in 12 Indian cities and estimated the prevalence of CKD in India at 17.2%.3 The Tanker Foundation (www.tankerfoundation.org), a non-governmental organization (NGO) in South India, in an early detection and prevention program in rural and urban areas detected dipst ick prote inur ia in 24 .2% and an eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 was found in 7.7%.4 Diabetic nephropathy was found to be the commonest cause of CKD in crosssectional study using Indian CKD registry and about 48% of cases were in stage V at presentation.5