Nephrology in Italy

Nephrology in Italy was organized as a medical society in 1957. A publicly funded system provides no-fee and universal healthcare for all people within the national territory, including renal replacement therapy, with coverage of renal dialysis and kidney transplantation. With a population of 60 million, about 46,474 patients are currently on dialysis. Hemodialysis is the main modality of renal replacement therapy, treating 90% of the patients on chronic dialysis. Peritoneal dialysis is still underutilized. Similarly, transplantation, with about 2200 kidney transplants per year, can be expanded. This chapter presents a general overview of nephrology in Italy, covering historical aspects, the main renal diseases, and renal replacement therapy, including hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and kidney transplantation.