Ramadan fasting and chronic kidney disease: A systematic review

Ramadan fasting represents one of the five pillars of the Islam creed according to the Sunnah and the second practice of faith for the Shiaa. Even though patients are exempted from observing this religious duty, they may be eager to share this particular moment of the year with their family and peers. However, there are no guidelines or standardized protocols that can help physicians to properly address the issue of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) fasting in Ramadan and to correctly advise them. Moreover, in a more interconnected and globalized society, in which more and more Muslim patients live in the Western countries, this topic is of high interest also for the general practitioner. For this purpose, we carried out a systematic review, including also articles written in Arabic, Turkish, and Persian languages. Our main findings are that: 1. recipients of kidney allograft can safely fast during Ramadan; 2. evidences for safety in patients with nephrolithiasis and CKD are instead mixed and controversial. On the other hand, 3. most studies have been carried out during Ramadan falling in cold seasons, and there is scarce information about Ramadan fasting in hot seasons. For these reasons, the findings may be not generalizable and therefore cautions should be taken and applied; the physicians should carefully monitor their patients during the fasting period with an adequate follow-up, in order to avoid any injurious effect.