21-year-old suffers kidney failure after pulling late nights fueled by energy drinks

The student, in his final year at a university in Hanoi, regularly relied on energy drinks to cope with academic pressure, sometimes even using painkillers to stay alert during all-night study sessions. Despite experiencing fatigue and reduced urination, he neglected to seek medical attention.

His condition worsened when he developed symptoms like leg swelling, continuous vomiting, and extreme exhaustion. His roommate eventually brought him to Bach Mai Hospital for emergency care, where Duong Minh Tuan from the Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes confirmed the patient's kidney function had fallen below 20%.

Tuan explained that the student's unhealthy lifestyle habits, particularly the abuse of energy drinks, had caused severe kidney damage.

The patient is currently undergoing intensive treatment, but full recovery of kidney function is unlikely.

In Vietnam, over 10 million people suffer from chronic kidney disease, accounting for about 12.8% of the adult population. Approximately 8,000 new cases are reported each year, with 800,000 patients requiring dialysis. However, there are only 5,500 dialysis machines in the country, which can serve just 33,000 patients, meeting less than 30% of the demand, according to the Ministry of Health.

Kidney failure is particularly dangerous because it often has no clear symptoms in its early stages. Many otherwise healthy young individuals discover the condition only during routine health check-ups. By the time symptoms like swelling, reduced urination, nausea, and fatigue appear, kidney damage has already occurred. At this point, treatment focuses on maintaining the remaining kidney function, but full restoration is not possible.

Doctors identify the leading causes of kidney failure as glomerular disease, urinary stones, and infections, but an unhealthy lifestyle is a significant contributing factor. Risk factors include lack of physical activity, sleep deprivation, poor hygiene, insufficient water intake, frequent urine retention, excessive alcohol and tobacco use, high salt consumption, and the overconsumption of meat, sugar, fried foods, and processed foods. Unregulated drug use also contributes.

Patients with chronic kidney failure must undergo hemodialysis three times a week, each session lasting 4–5 hours. A single dialysis session costs VND700,000–1.3 million (US$26.77–49.71), so patients without health insurance may spend VND9–15 million a month for dialysis alone.

The most effective treatment, a kidney transplant, costs VND300–500 million, excluding the cost of immunosuppressive drugs needed afterward.

To prevent kidney failure, doctor Tuan advises maintaining a healthy diet, reducing salt intake, drinking enough water, exercising regularly, avoiding urine retention, and getting adequate sleep. Individuals with underlying conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure should follow their treatment plans and attend regular check-ups.

Self-medication, including the use of herbal remedies, should be avoided without professional consultation, Tuan said. Regular health check-ups, at least once a year and ideally every six months, are crucial to monitor kidney function, he added.