After the publication of the article: Nomenclature for kidney function and disease, report of a Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Consensus Conference1 in the summer of 2020, and its subsequent dissemination through the Webinar of the International Society of Nephrology ( ISN): ISN-KDIGO Webinar: Nomenclature for Kidney Function & Disease: Implications for Researchers, Clinical Educators and Practitioner, from the Latin American Registry of Kidney Dialysis and Transplantation and the Acute Renal Injury Committee of the Latin American Society of Nephrology and Hypertension (SLANH ), a concern arose to work on an Ibero-American version of consensus with the aim of standardizing, agreeing and harmonizing the nomenclature that could be used by the Spanish-Portuguese-speaking community from this moment on.
As a consequence of this initial idea, the Spanish Nephrology Society (SEN), the Brazilian Nephrology Society (SBN) and the Portuguese Nephrology Society (SPN) were gather together to work on the development of an integrative linguistic document that could be practical for all of us who speak, write and read in Spanish and Portuguese.
As a result of the group's work, there were developed some tables including terminology in both languages. These tables have been published recently in the journal Nefrología Latinoamerica2 and include suggestions on what are the terms to use when referring to kidney function, how it is assessed, and the name of diseases affecting the kidney. In addition, recommendations are provided on which abbreviations to use and which words should not be used.
According to data from the Cervantes Institute,3 the Spanish language is used by 580 million people (7.6% of the world's population). Each geographic territory adds peculiarities and nuances. This may mean that, when choosing a word, it can be disturbing for some communities, especially when they are separated by an ocean. In any case, we have tried to find converging points with which we all are represented.
After several months of work in the nephrological societies of Spain and Portugal and the one that encompasses Latin American countries, we were pleasantly surprised to see how another group of Spanish-speaking nephrologists, also from Europe and America, felt the same need to unify and adapt terms in our language. As first contributions, there were published, almost simultaneously in English4 and in Spanish,5 a declaration of commitment in this regard.
The final purpose of this letter is to invite Spanish nephrologists to consult the consensus document and value its possible use. This unification of criteria will serve as a basis to favor the understanding and advancement of nephrology in all the countries where Spanish and Portuguese is spoken.
Please cite this article as: Sánchez-Alvarez JE, Ferreiro-Fuentes A, González-Bedat MC, Rosa Díez GJ, Lombardi R, Lugón J, et al. Sobre la necesidad de armonizar la terminología nefrológica en los países latinoamericanos. Nefrologia. 2022;41:700–701.
