The disease results from the progressive,
irreversible and generally slow loss of renal
function, which leads patients to undergo replacement
therapies. This is a serious public health
problem, because the prevalence of people in
dialysis programs has increased significantly in
recent years, and the tendency is for this to rise
even further. In Brazil, approximately 21,000
patients a year need to undergo renal replacement
therapy, which may occur by means of
hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis