Free kidney testing aims to curb rising CKD cases

Local drugstore chain Mercury Drug Corp., in partnership with AstraZeneca and Diabetes Philippines, said on Wednesday that it aims to delay the “end cases” of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) by offering early detection through free Urine Albumin-to-Creatinine Ratio (UACR) screening.

“Our goal is to be able to find out who among these patients or Filipinos may potentially have kidney disease because kidney disease is asymptomatic,” AstraZeneca Philippines Medical Affairs Director Cyril Joseph P. Tolosa told BusinessWorld in an interview.

“By being able to have yourself tested or screened, there is an opportunity for you to address the problem of kidney disease early,” he added.

The UACR test is a non-invasive procedure that measures the amount of albumin, a type of protein, in the urine relative to creatinine, a waste product. Tracing the amount of protein that leaked into the urine could indicate a “critical early warning sign” of kidney stress that requires early intervention.

“The problem with kidney disease is if you address it late, there’s not much you can do,” Mr. Tolosa said. “This patient will just progress to dialysis which is the worst thing that could happen for this patient.”

Diabetes Philippines Treasurer Rey D.F. Rosales noted that early screening, like the UACR test, could also slow down or prevent dialysis treatment.

“If the patient has been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, we classify them in terms of the risk of progression to end-stage renal disease,” he told BusinessWorld at the sidelines of the launch.

“We want early screening so we can identify the CKD patient’s stage and manage it properly to delay it,” he added.

The free UACR test is available across four Mercury Drug branches, specifically, Pavilion Mall and Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong, TriNoma Mall in Quezon City, and in Noveleta, Cavite.

The free test targets to benefit more than 13,000 Filipinos nationwide.

“Anybody who walks into this Mercury Drug branch can avail of the screening. They don’t need to bring anything, they don’t need to show anything,” Mr. Tolosa said.

“The healthcare professional, specifically the nurse, will request them to provide their urine in the cup and once they’re able to provide the specimen, they will be tested for UACR and the nurse will advise the patient as necessary,” he added.

According to the National Kidney Transplant Institute (NKTI), 64,845 dialysis patients were recorded in 2024, a 22% increase from the previous year. Among the most common kidney disease cases are hypertensive nephrosclerosis (33.07%), diabetic nephropathy (30.04%), and chronic glomerulonephritis (12.20%).— Almira Louise S. Martinez