North American Pediatric Renal Trials and Collaborative Studies (NAPRTCS)

The North American Pediatric Renal Trials and Collaborative Studies (NAPTRCS) is a research effort organized in 1987.

At the outset of the study, the operational objective of this was to obtain the voluntary participantion of all renal transplant centers in North America in which (>4) pediatric patients erceived renal allografts annually. Scientific objectives include capture of information about current practice and trends in immunosupppressive therapy withan ultimare goal of improving care of pediatric renal allograft recipients in North America.

In 1992, the study was expanded to include pediatric patients who receive maintenance hemodialysis orfperitoneal dialysis therapy. In 1994, data collection began on patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), defined as a Schwartz calculated creatinine clearance <75 ml/min/1.73 m2.

Now, not only do we hope to register andfollow greater than 80% of the children receiving renal allografts in North America, but to study the clinical course and natural history of patients with renal dyst=function and to continue following rthese patients as they move among the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) therapeutic modalities, thus allowing he NAPRTCS to become a complete ESRD patient data system.