Nephrology

Healthcare Professionals

Home Healthcare Professionals Patient Referral Guidelines Nephrology

Disease category	Eligibility for referral to the Hong Kong Children's Hospital
Acute kidney injury (AKI)	Patients with moderate to severe degree of renal impairment due to acute illness Including patients who may need acute renal replacement therapy
Chronic kidney disease (CKD)	Stage III-V (GFR < 60 ml/min/1.73m²) CKD
End-stage kidney disease (ESKD)	Stage V CKD (GFR < 15ml/min/1.73m²) requiring renal replacement therapy
Complicated nephrotic syndrome	Congenital or infantile nephrotic syndrome Nephrotic syndrome with atypical features requiring renal biopsy Steroid dependent nephrotic syndrome on second line immunosuppressant Steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome Other types of nephrotic syndrome with complications or renal impairment
IgA nephropathy	Proteinuria > 1g/1.73m²/day despite ACEI/ARB Patients with renal impairment or nephrotic syndrome on presentation
HSP with nephritis	Persistent proteinuria of > 1g/ 1.73m2/day despite ACEI/ARB Patients with renal impairment or nephrotic syndrome on presentation
APSGN (or post infectious GN)	Atypical or rapidly progressive disease with renal impairment Persistent significant proteinuria
Lupus nephritis or Vasculitis	Acute kidney injury or renal impairment Acute nephritis, nephrotic, or nephritic-nephrotic syndrome Persistent significant proteinuria despite treatment
Urinary tract infection (UTI) with congenital kidney and urinary tract abnormalities (CAKUT)	Patients with complicated structural abnormalities of the kidney and urinary tract, including severe VUR or obstructions
Complex congenital abnormality of kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT)	Patients with complicated anatomy requiring surgical intervention for prevention of infection or preservation of kidney function
Severe hypertension	Stage II hypertension or above Secondary hypertension Suspected reno-vascular hypertension
Renal stone disease	Paediatric renal stone disease for work up Acute kidney injury, infection or renal impairment secondary to stones disease
Complicated cystic kidney diseases	Autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) Autosomal-recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) Other cystic kidney diseases with impaired renal function or anatomical concern
Rare kidney diseases (including metabolic diseases or rare familial kidney diseases)	Any rare diseases with significant kidney involvement

Referral Pathway

For urgent consultations, please contact the Nephrology consultation doctor through the hospital operator (tel: 3513 3888) for discussion AND fax the referral letter to Ward 6W (fax: 2459 9904). Please confirm with Ward 6W (tel: 3513 3568) on the receipt of the referral letter.
For non-urgent consultations, the patient could send the referral letter to the HKCH Specialist Outpatient Clinic via HA Go app, email (hkchsopcbooking@ha.org.hk), or fax (3512 7579).