In both 2007 and 2008 the incidence, prevalence and treatment of pediatric patients in the ERA-EDTA countries were published in a special section of the ERA-EDTA registry annual report. Furthermore, in September 2008 during the annual meeting of the ESPN in Lyon a presentation was given with some of the first detailed results of the ESPN/ERA-EDTA Registry. The incidence of RRT among patients below the age of 15 varied widely between the countries ranging from no patients starting RRT in a country in that year to 15 persons per million age related population (pmarp), with a mean incidence of 5.7 pmarp. The incidence was lowest among patients aged 5 to 10. Prevalence of RRT ranged from 8 to 106 pmarp with a mean prevalence of 29.1 pmarp. Furthermore, crude analysis showed large differences between countries in transplantation rate and differences in survival between various age groups. In addition to information on treatment and survival, more detailed information is now collected, including height, weight, anaemia, and medication use. Therefore there are many possibilities for future detailed research. We would encourage individuals who are interested in performing studies or participating in the registry to contact Karlijn van Stralen K.J.vanStralen@amc.uva.nl.

From Karlijn van Stralen, Enrico Verrina, Jane Tizard and Kitty Jager