Number Of Dialysis Patients Research Articles

#5450 EXTERNAL VALIDATION OF A RISK PREDICTION TOOL IN DETERMINING EARLY DEATH AMONG ELDERLY PATIENTS INITIATED ON DIALYSIS

Abstract Background and Aims The increase in the senior population is one of the factors that has been attributed to the rise in the number of dialysis patients in the Philippines. The elderly generally has an increased risk for poor dialysis-associated outcomes, and studies have been conflicting if they have better survival with initiation of dialysis as compared to conservative management. The decision-making process in this regard for clinicians, patients, and their families may be ameliorated by the Thamer Risk Scoring tool which uses simple variables such as age, albumin level, nursing home residence, need for assistance in daily living, cancer, heart failure, and hospitalization to predict early mortality in elderly patients after initiating dialysis [1]. This tool has not been validated in the Philippine setting, hence this study aimed to validate the prognostic property of the Thamer Risk Scoring tool in predicting early death among elderly patients initiated on dialysis in a tertiary institution, in Davao City, Philippines. Method A retrospective cohort research design was used. All the charts of patients diagnosed with end-stage renal disease aged 60 years and above, who were admitted and initiated on either hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis within a 4-year period from 2018 to 2021 were reviewed. Patients with periods of dialysis lasting less than 90 days followed by recovery of kidney function, and patients with lacking data to meet all pre-requisite variables for the risk scoring were excluded. Results A review of 1,583 patient charts was done, with 1,402 omitted based on the exclusion criteria. A total of 181 patients were included in the study. Most of the patients were male (56.35%), and initiated on hemodialysis (97.24%). The mean age of the population was 67.34 years with majority in the 60–69 year age group (66.3%). Those who survived had a mean age of 66.53 years and those who expired had a mean age of 68.63 years. All-cause mortality was 38.12% at 3 months, and 3.57% at 6 months after dialysis initiation. The all-cause mortality at 3 months in this study was three times higher than the Thamer study with a mortality of 12.5%. Patients with heart failure (p-value = 0.007), cancer (p-value = 0.040), asthma (p-value = 0.040), and need for assistance in daily living (p-value = 0.022), had significantly higher mortality rates, while patients who had higher albumin (p-value = 0.010), and creatinine (p-value = 0.014) had higher survival rates. Similar to the Thamer study, this study also showed that the tool becomes less sensitive and more specific as the scores increased for the 3-month, 6-month, and over-all mortality groups. The accuracy of the tool rises with a higher score as well. In the Thamer study, their validation cohort had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) = 0.691 for their risk scoring tool while this study showed an AUROC = 0.6245, 0.2847, and 0.5993 in the 3-month, 6-month, and over-all mortality groups respectively which does not show statistical strength. Conclusion Patients with older age, comorbidities such as heart failure, cancer, asthma, and those who need assistance in daily living had higher mortality rates. Despite the poor performance of the Thamer risk scoring tool in predicting mortality in terms of AUROC in this study, the sensitivity, and specificity had a similar performance in the Thamer study. Furthermore, the consistent trend of accuracy of predicting mortality in these groups reflect that a higher score portends to a higher accuracy in predicting mortality.

Time-Series Forecasting of Hemodialysis Population in the State of Qatar by 2030.

There are few statistics on dialysis-dependent individuals with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in Qatar. Having access to this information can aid in better understanding the dialysis development model, aiding higher-level services in future planning. In order to give data for creating preventive efforts, we thus propose a time-series with a definitive endogenous model to predict ESKD patients requiring dialysis. In this study, we used four mathematical equations linear, exponential, logarithmic decimal, and polynomial regression, to make predictions using historical data from 2012 to 2021. These equations were evaluated based on time-series analysis, and their prediction performance was assessed using the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), coefficient of determination (R2), and mean absolute deviation (MAD). Because it remained largely steady for the population at risk of ESKD in this investigation, we did not consider the population growth factor to be changeable. (FIFA World Cup 2022 preparation workforce associated growth was in healthy and young workers that did not influence ESKD prevalence). The polynomial has a high R2 of 0.99 and isconsequently the best match for the prevalence dialysis data, according to numerical findings. Thus, the MAPE is 2.28, and the MAD is 9.87%, revealing a small prediction error with good accuracy and variability. The polynomial algorithm is the simplest and best-calculated projection model, according to these results. The number of dialysis patients in Qatar is anticipated to increase to 1037 (95% CI, 974-1126) in 2022, 1245 (95% CI, 911-1518) in 2025, and 1611 (95% CI, 1378-1954) in 2030, with a 5.67% average yearly percentage change between 2022 and 2030. Our research offers straightforward and precise mathematical models for predicting the number of patients in Qatar who will require dialysis in the future. We discovered that the polynomial technique outperformed other methods. Future planning for the need for dialysis services can benefit from this forecasting.

Mortality in hemodialysis patients in Ethiopia: a retrospective follow-up study in three centers

BackgroundThe prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is between 10 and 15% worldwide. Ethiopia is seeing a consistent increase in the number of dialysis patients. Patients on chronic hemodialysis have high mortality rates, but there is little information available in Ethiopia. Thus, this study looked into patient mortality and the factors that contributed to it at three dialysis centers in Addis Ababa for hemodialysis patients.MethodA facility-based retrospective follow-up study was employed among End-Stage Renal Disease patients on hemodialysis from 2016 to 2020 at St. Paul Millennium Medical College (SPMMC), Zewditu Memorial Hospital (ZMH), and Menelik II Hospital. The proportional hazard assumption was checked by using the Log (-log (St)) plots and tests. Life-table analysis was fitted to estimate the one and five-year’s survival probability of these patients and Cox Proportional regression analysis to model the predictors of mortality at p-value < 0.05.ResultOver the course of 2772 person-months, 139 patients were tracked. Of these patients, 88 (63.3%) were male and the mean age (± SD) of the patients was 36.8 (± 11.9) years. During the follow-up period, 24 (17%) of the patients died, 67 (48.2%) were alive, 43 (30.9%) received a kidney transplant, and 5 (3.6%) were lost to follow-up. The mean survival time was 46.2 months (95% CI: 41.8, 50.5). According to estimates, there were 104 deaths per 1000 person-years at the end of the follow-up period. The likelihood that these patients would survive for one and 5 years was 91%% and 65%, respectively. Our analysis showed that patients with hypertension (Adjusted Hazard Rate (AHR) = 4.33; 95% CI: 1.02, 34.56), cardiovascular disease (AHR = 4.69; 95% CI: 1.32, 16.80), and infection during dialysis (AHR = 3.89; 95% CI: 1.96, 13.80) were more likely to die.ConclusionThe hemodialysis patients' death rate in the chosen dialysis facilities was high. Preventing and treating comorbidities and complications during dialysis would probably reduce the mortality of CKD patients. Furthermore, the best way to avoid and manage chronic kidney disease is to take a complete and integrated approach to manage hypertension, diabetes, and obesity.

Prévalence de l’IRCT et part des différentes modalités de traitement

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the REIN (French Renal Epidemiology and Information Network), a summary work on the contributions of the national French ESKD register was carried out. On the issue of ESKD prevalence, the following key messages were retained. While chronic kidney disease affects all age groups, there always are more patients to treat in the older age groups, with a median age of 71.1 years (IIQ 60.3-80.0) under dialysis and 58.7 years (IIQ 47.4-68.3) under renal transplant. Despite an increase in transplant activity and improved survival of grafts, the gap between the number of dialysis patients and transplant patients at the end of each year is only moderately reduced. There has been a moderate decrease in the proportion of in-centre haemodialysis that is explained by a significant increase in medicalised dialysis units (out-centre haemodialysis) and a decrease in self-care haemodialysis. Finally, a stable home-based care has been observed despite the ministerial incentives and the recommendations of the French-speaking scientific society (SFNDT-white paper).

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: the disruptor that maintenance dialysis never anticipated.

The novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has upended maintenance dialysis in the United States. I review changes in prevalence, incidence, mortality, and other clinical outcomes among patients undergoing dialysis since March 2020, highlighting vulnerabilities in the current system and opportunities for improved care in the future. The number of dialysis patients in the United States declined between March 2020 and March 2021, an unprecedented year-over-year drop in the census. Some of the decline can be attributed to an early drop in patients initiating dialysis but most of the decline can be attributed to excess mortality. Kidney transplants also declined during the early part of the pandemic. Home dialysis utilization increased during 2020 but that increase was largely in line with secular trends. The rate of hospitalization for causes other than COVID-19 fell significantly during 2020. The epidemiology of dialysis in the United States is clearly modifiable, as it reflects decisions to initiate treatment, prescribe home therapies, and hospitalize patients with acute medical needs. On the other hand, some outcomes are powerfully guided by health outcomes in the general population, thus limiting the ability of dialysis providers and nephrologists to influence outcomes.

COVID-19−Associated Decline in the Size of the End-Stage Kidney Disease Population in the United States

COVID-19−Associated Decline in the Size of the End-Stage Kidney Disease Population in the United States

Current possibilities of improving the results of kidney transplantation in patients of the older age group, including those with an aggravated urological history

Introduction. All over the world and in Russia, the number of patients requiring dialysis therapy and kidney transplantation for chronic renal failure in the end-stage of the renal disease is increasing. In many countries of the world, the number of dialysis patients over 60 years of age accounts for 30 to 45% of all patients with chronic renal failure. Meantime, taking into account the improved methods for early diagnosis of chronic renal failure and the treatment methods for chronic kidney disease, including the renal replacement therapy, we can expect an increase in the number of elderly potential kidney transplant recipients. The likelihood of receiving a renal graft in elderly patients is significantly lower than in young recipients. Elderly patients are known to have a higher risk of death while waiting for a kidney transplant due to higher morbidity and lethality on dialysis. For this reason, the urgency of increasing the availability of kidney transplantation in elderly patients is growing over time. One of the solutions can be the use of kidneys from suboptimal donors with a far from ideal graft quality, but which could meet the needs for transplant care of the older age group of patients. The older age of a recipient entails a certain risk of developing a graft dysfunction due to the presence of concomitant diseases, and the potential risk increases even more with kidney transplants from expanded criteria donors. If a reduced functional reserve of kidneys removed from donors with extended criteria is identified, two-kidney transplantation is possible, which provides fairly good long-term results. To reduce the risk of a kidney graft loss, a careful selection of recipients is necessary, taking into account their co-morbidities, including the presence of urological diseases that impair the function of the upper and lower urinary tract. Their timely identification and correction makes it possible to raise the availability of kidney transplantation for elderly patients and improve its results. This review presents the results of the studies conducted in various world transplant centers, covers the mortality rates, kidney graft and recipient survival rates.The study purpose was to summarize the actual data and the results of the study on kidney transplantation in elderly patients with urological pathology.

MO200COVID-19 PANDEMIC INCREASED ADVANCE CARE PLANNING DEMAND

Background and AimsAdvance care planning (ACP) enables competent patients to define goals and preferences for future treatments and care, to discuss these goals and preferences with relatives, and if appropriate to record these preferences.After many years of political and social debates, in December 2017 the first advance directive and care planning legislation was approved in Italy. Nevertheless, citizens’ awareness of these issues is scarce as well as the integration of the advance care planning process into clinical routine. The latest data reported to the Italian Parliament by the Ministry of Health indicated that advance directives have been completed by 62030 people, approximately 1.1% of Italian adult population.However, during the last months, the COVID-19 pandemic solicited taking steps towards promoting an advance care planning culture. Indeed, the need of proposing ACP to patients have been recently stressed both by medical associations and national and local institutional documents.MethodSince November 2020, our nephrology unit adopted a protocol approved by Ethical committee by Physician Order of Florence, aimed to conduct ACP interventions with dialysis patients.Firstly, all patients were informed about the possibility to taking part in one or more advance care planning conversations with their nephrologist. Secondly, a semi-structured guide to the conversation was created in order to support physicians in conducting the ACP intervention. Finally, patients along with nephrologist and their relatives, could documented their preferences for future treatments and care.ResultsFrom November to March only one patient asked to receive an ACP intervention. However, since COVID-19 spread in Italy last March, the number of patients who demanded ACP raised up. In the period from April to July, 15 out of 110 hemodialysis patients treated in our center asked for an ACP intervention and filled-in an advance directive. Specifically, no patients required an immediate discontinuation of dialysis, nevertheless 80% of them stated that would not like to continue with dialysis in case he/she was no longer able to self-determine (e.g. permanent loss of capacity to communicate with others).All patients except one have appointed a personal representative (usually their partner). In the eventuality of cardiac arrest, 60% of patients asked for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Finally, all patients expressed the wish to spend the last days of life at home.ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic raised up the number of dialysis patients who required to taking part in a advance care planning intervention. In this sense, the pandemic can be an opportunity for consolidate advance care planning in Italy as well as in other countries, where these interventions are not well known by people and not yet regularly offered in the clinical routine.Using a semi-structured interview for the ACP interview can help the nephrologist to discuss future care and end-of-life topics with their patients.

Chronic kidney disease and dialysis therapy: incidence and prevalence in the world

Сhronic kidney disease (CKD) is the important public and medical problem in the world because of a large burden on health care systems. The prevalence of CKD and number of dialysis patients are increasing in the world. The prevalence and incidence of CKD depends on age, race, and gender of patients, region, and the presence of the CKD registry in a country. Diabetes mellitus (DM) and arterial hypertension (AH) are the most common causes of end stage renal disease (ESRD). It is projected that the number of dialysis patients will reach 5.5 million in 2030. Specific strategies and interventions should be urgently aimed at reducing in the burden of CKD by means of the prevention, detection and treatment of DM, AH, and early stages of CKD. One more strategy is the organization of own domestic manufacture of solutions for dialysis therapy.

Assessing the Potential and Necessity for Kidney Transplantation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Assessing the Potential and Necessity for Kidney Transplantation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Cognitive Status and Risk Factors for Cognitive Impairment in Dialysis Patients

The number of dialysis patients is increasing every year and is estimated to be more than 2 million, with an annual increase of 6–12% in dialysis programs. There is a high correlation between cognitive impairment and mortality in dialysis patients, which suggests the relevance of screening cognitive functions in dialysis patients using different neuropsychological scales.Aim of the study was to test the cognitive status and identify cognitive impairment in patients with terminal stage of chronic kidney disease treated using program hemodialysis, as well as to evaluate risk factors for cognitive impairment in this category of patients.Material and methods. 83 patients aged 28 to 78 years (mean age 56.7±13.7 years) were examined. The main group included 53 people who received program hemodialysis, of them 23 men and 30 women. The mean age of patients in this group was 58.3±13.3 years. The control group composed of 30 individuals without kidney diseases, including 13 men and 17 women. The mean age in the control group was 53.6±14.9 years. The MoCA and SLUMS scales were chosen for detecting cognitive impairment and assessment of neuropsychological status. We used mathematical methods of research data processing such as inductive statistics and correlation analysis.Results. Cognitive impairment was found to be significantly more frequent in dialysis patients (75.5–81.1% of cases, P=0.05) compared to those without kidney pathology. The SLUMS scale was shown to be more sensitive than MoCA (P=0.05, CI 95.0%). The risk factors of cognitive impairment in dialysis patients included increased dialysis duration, age (rs=–0.298) and low estimated urea dialysis adequacy index (Kt/V less than 1.2).Conclusion. A high risk of cognitive impairment is common in dialysis patients. For its timely detection, the screening neuropsychological test are recommended to be used by clinicians. Cognitive impairment, diagnosed by the tests, is an indication for a specialist consultation.

P1467DEMOGRAPHY OF THE DIALYSIS POPULATION IN SWITZERLAND IN 2018

Abstract Background and Aims The national Swiss Dialysis Registry (srrqap) has been established originally in the year 2006. However, participation is substantial only since 2013, when data collection became mandatory by law. The primary aim of the srrqap is to provide quality control and quality improvement for dialysis therapy in Switzerland. In the present analysis, select demographic characteristics of the Swiss dialysis population are given. Method All medical establishments in Switzerland (both public and private; N=92) providing chronic treatment by either hemo- and/or peritoneal dialysis, had to provide relevant data for the year 2018. All individuals being on chronic dialytic therapy in the year 2018 were enrolled (N=4646). For patients alive on December 31 2018, data were gathered from this date or closest to this date. For patients who died during 2018 or were being transplanted, data refer to time of event, or to a date closest to the event. Results The median age of dialysis patients in 2018 increased almost by one year compared to 2016. More than fifty percent of the patients were older than 71 years, and nearly ¼ were beyond 80 years. No relevant differences were found between female and male patients regarding mean age (68.6 vs. 68.3 years, respectively). However, women‘s dialysis vintage is significantly higher than men’s (54.4 vs. 45.7 months, respectively) and they are significantly less comorbid than men (4.2 vs. 4.7). Conclusion With a coverage of 100% for both centers and patients, the data gathered can be considered highly representative. The incidence of dialysis therapy in Switzerland with 95.9 pmp is clearly lower than in most other countries. In 2018, 3789 prevalent patients (443.7 pmp) were dialyzed in Switzerland. The number of dialysis patients with diabetes increased by almost 1% from 2017, reaching 37.4%.

Stress of Dialysis Nurses-Analyzing the Buffering Role of Influence at Work and Feedback.

Dialysis nurses face complex and demanding working conditions. Due to demographic changes, the number of dialysis patients has increased, while the number of skilled personnel is expected to decrease, leading to tremendous increases in quantitative demands in the near future. Against the background of increasing workload, focusing on the provision of job resources is considered a promising approach because resources can buffer the negative effects of job demands. The aim of this study is to investigate whether different job resources—in particular influence at work and feedback—play a buffering role in the relationship between job demands and employee well-being. The study used a cross-sectional paper–pencil survey design. Data were collected from 951 dialysis nurses working in dialysis facilities in Germany between October 2010 and March 2012 using validated measures of quantitative job demands, job-related resources (influence at work and feedback), and cognitive stress symptoms. To test the moderating role of resources, we applied hierarchical regression analyses. The findings indicate that feedback buffers the relationship between quantitative demands and well-being; that is, the positive relationship between quantitative demands and cognitive stress symptoms was weaker when feedback was high. However, we found no buffering role of influence at work. The results suggest that feedback is a promising resource that may buffer the negative impact of quantitative demands on well-being of dialysis nurses. The findings offer new approaches for training nurses and implementing a feedback culture.

Epidemiological survey and risk factor analysis of dialysis-related amyloidosis including destructive spondyloarthropathy, dialysis amyloid arthropathy, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

The RDT population, initially at 215 patients, exceeded 300,000 in 2011, with a total of 329,609 patients at the end of December 2016. In our Institute, the number of patients with destructive spondylosis is increasing with the increase in the number of dialysis patients in Japan. We had 14 Cases in the 1990s, and then 82 cases in the 2000s and have already had 131 cases in the 2010s. The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of dialysis-related amyloidosis (DRA) such as destructive spondyloarthropathy (DSA), dialysis amyloid arthropathy (DAA), and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). In addition, another purpose was to examine the risk factors of the DRA. DAA made its own assessment on radiographs based on stage. Survey items were patient's basic data, laboratory data and X-ray view. Patient's basic data included such as sex, age, height, and weight and RDT-related factors such as kidney disease that led to RDT, age at start of RDT, RDT history, medical history (past and present), and history of surgery. The frequency of DRA was examined by medical history and radiological examination in 199 dialysis patients who obtained informed consent. The patients were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of DRA, and risk factors of DRA were investigated from the medical history, basic data of patients, and blood tests. Of the 199 patients on regular dialysis therapy, 41 (20.6%) showed DRA. Based on the X-ray images, 21 patients (10.6%) showed DSA, while 22 patients (11.1%) showed DAA. Sixteen patients (8.0%) had CTS, determined through a history of surgery. Regarding overlap of conditions, 14 had both DSA and DAA, 3 had both DSA and CTS, and 2 had both DAA and CTS. There were statistically significant differences between the two groups in the cause of disease in Chronic glomerulonephritis and Diabetic Nephropathy, age at the start of RDT, period of RDT, body weight, blood platelet count, and blood Ca level. When multivariate analysis was performed on these items, statistical differences were recognized only during the dialysis period. In conclusion, long dialysis period was a risk factor for DRA.

Outcomes of cardiovascular surgery for chronic dialysis patients in current Japan.

Background The number of dialysis patients in Japan is rising, with an increasing number requiring cardiovascular surgery. Methods We investigated the short- and long-term outcomes in 70 dialysis patients among a total of 1124 who underwent cardiovascular surgery in our hospital between 2004 and 2016. We investigated outcomes following open surgery and identified factors that affected the prognosis. We also compared the long-term survival rate with the survival rate of the Japanese dialysis population. Results The long-term survival rate was 70.6%, 51.1%, and 19.2% after 3, 5, and 10 years, respectively. The causes of long-term death were heart disease in 8 patients, cerebrovascular disease in 7, cachexia in 3, infection in 2, and other causes in 3. The freedom from cardiac death was 88.7%, 77.9%, and 54.9% after 3, 5, and 10 years, respectively. Multivariate analysis using Cox’s proportional hazard model showed that a history of atherosclerosis obliterans (hazard ratio 5.4, p = 0.05) and mediastinitis (hazard ratio 10.2, p = 0.03) were risk factors for death in long-term follow-up, and a history of atherosclerosis obliterans was an independent risk factor for cardiac death in long-term follow-up (hazard ratio 5.3, p = 0.01). Five-year survival of the study subjects was comparable to that of the Japanese dialysis population. Conclusions The prognosis for dialysis patients after open surgery was equivalent to that of Japanese dialysis patients in general. A high proportion of late postoperative deaths were due to heart disease. Patients with atherosclerosis obliterans had a poor prognosis.

Current state of dialysis treatment and vascular access management in Japan.

According to the data from the Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy, the number of dialysis patients was about 330,000 at the end of 2016. The mean age of newly initiated patients was 69.4 years and that of maintenance was 68.2 years. And, diabetic nephropathy is the most common primary disease, with an incidence rate of 43.2%. These results mean that the systemic vascular condition is getting worse. In spite of these backgrounds, the patients of 97.3% were treated by hemodialysis; therefore, careful management of vascular access is essential to better maintain the condition of patients. The Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study shows that vascular access modalities are an important factor in determining prognoses of patients and that prognosis in Japan is one of the best worldwide. In Japan, the use of arteriovenous fistulae accounts for 95% of vascular access modalities. However, a statistic by Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy suggests that the use of arteriovenous graft has been increasing. In 2005, Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy Guidelines recommended percutaneous transluminal angioplasty be the first choice for the treatment of vascular access stenosis. Since then, percutaneous transluminal angioplasty has become an important procedure for long-term maintenance of the morphology and function of vascular access. In Japan, approximately 60% of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty are conducted by nephrologists and urologists; in addition, arteriovenous fistulae creation procedures are also performed by them. According to my private opinion, such conditions above show that even in the absence of standardized training on vascular access management, doctors on site perform their duties in an appropriate manner. However, the problems of how we evaluate the specificity in Japan and pass it down the generations still remain.

Transplant Patients With Failing Renal Allografts.

Progress in patient care and immunosuppressive medications has resulted in improved allograft survival in the early posttransplant period; however, substantial graft loss continues in the long term. Therefore, the number of dialysis patients with failed allografts is increasing progressively. These patients have a worse prognosis than naive dialysis patients. Cardiovascular causes are the leading cause of death, followed by infections and malignancies. Delay in return to dialysis, a chronic inflammatory state, infections, and cancer are contributing factors to mortality, whereas type of dialysis modality does not have a significant effect on outcomes. Graft nephrectomy is a risky operation; therefore, it should not be a routine procedure and rather should be performed only when indicated. Overall, most grafts are left in place, whereas graft nephrectomy is performed in atients with graft intolerance syndrome. Management of immunosuppressive drugs after graft failure is controversial. In the case of maintaining immunosuppression, there is increased risk of infections, cardiovascular diseases, and malignancies and also steroid-related adverse effects. On the other hand, discontinuation of immunosuppressants may result in loss of residual allograft function and also acute graft inflammation. Together, immunosuppressive drugs are almost always discontinued in these patients because of their inherent adverse effects. Considering the sequence of cessation, first antiproliferative drugs are stopped, followed by calcineurin inhibitors, and finally steroids. Because many studies show a clear survival benefit, every attempt should be made for a retransplant in patients with failed renal allografts.

More Use of Peritoneal Dialysis Gives Significant Savings: A Systematic Review and Health Economic Decision Model.

BackgroundPatients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are in need of renal replacement therapy as dialysis and/or transplantation. The prevalence of ESRD and, thus, the need for dialysis are constantly growing. The dialysis modalities are either peritoneal performed at home or hemodialysis (HD) performed in-center (hospital or satellite) or home. We examined effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of HD performed at different locations (hospital, satellite, and home) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) at home in the Norwegian setting.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review for patients above 18 years with end-stage renal failure requiring dialysis in several databases and performed several meta-analyses of existing literature. Mortality and major complications that required were our main clinical outcomes. The quality of the evidence for each outcome was evaluated using GRADE. Cost-effectiveness was assessed by developing a probabilistic Markov model. The analysis was carried out from a societal perspective, and effects were expressed in quality-adjusted life-years. Uncertainties in the base-case parameter values were explored with a probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Scenario analyses were conducted by increasing the proportion of patients receiving PD with a corresponding reduction in HD patients in-center both for Norway and Europian Union. We assumed an annual growth rate of 4% in the number of dialysis patients, and a relative distribution between PD and HD in-center of 30% and 70%, respectively.ResultsFrom a societal perspective and over a 5-year time horizon, PD was the most cost-effective dialysis alternative. We found no significant difference in mortality between peritoneal and HD modalities. Our scenario analyses showed that a shift toward more patients on PD (as a first choice) with a corresponding reduction in HD in-center gave a saving over a 5-year period of 32 and 10,623 million EURO, respectively, for Norway and the European Union.ConclusionsPD was the most cost-effective dialysis alternative and was comparable with HD regarding efficacy outcomes. There are significant saving potentials if more end-stage renal patients are started on PD instead of HD.

Why are serum magnesium levels lower in Saudi dialysis patients?

ObjectivesSerum magnesium (Mg) levels are often altered in dialysis patients. This study was conducted to ascertain the trends in Mg levels in patients on dialysis treatment.MethodsA retrospective study was performed in the Dialysis Unit of King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, on patients undergoing regular dialysis. Patient demographic data, including body mass index (BMI), serum calcium (Ca), Mg, parathyroid hormone (PTH), cholesterol, and triglycerides were documented.ResultsOf a total of 115 patients, 70 (60.9%) were on haemodialysis (HD), and 45 (39.1%) were on peritoneal dialysis (PD). Of these, 10 patients (8.7%) had Mg levels of <0.7 mmol/L, 13 (11.3%) had 0.7 mmol/L, 24 (20.9%) had 0.8 mmol/L, 26 (22.6%) had 0.9 mmol/L, 16 (13.9%) 1.0 mmol/L, and 26 (23.9%) showed levels of ≥1.1 mmol/L. Approximately 93.0% had increased PTH levels, 43 (37.4%) had decreased serum Ca, 24 (20.9%) had low serum cholesterol, and 60 (52.2%) had low serum triglyceride. PD patients had significantly lower Mg and higher PTH levels compared to HD patients.ConclusionPatients with chronic kidney disease are generally considered at risk of developing hypermagnesaemia due to reduced renal excretion. However, a considerable number of dialysis patients in our unit had hypomagnesaemia (or low levels) instead. In addition to other factors, PTH secretion is affected by serum Mg levels. We found a significant correlation between serum Mg and Ca as well as PTH levels. Consequently, optimizing Mg concentration in patients on dialysate is essential to reduce risk of dyslipidaemia, arrhythmias, hyperparathyroidism, or adynamic bone disease.

An Overview of Regular Dialysis Treatment in Japan (As of 31 December 2013).

A nationwide survey of 4325 dialysis facilities was conducted at the end of 2013, among which 4268 (98.7%) responded. The number of new dialysis patients was 38,095 in 2013. Since 2008, the number of new dialysis patients has remained almost the same without any marked increase or decrease. The number of dialysis patients who died in 2013 was 30,751. The dialysis patient population has been growing every year in Japan; it was 314,438 at the end of 2013. The number of dialysis patients per million at the end of 2013 was 2470. The crude death rate of dialysis patients in 2013 was 9.8%. The mean age of new dialysis patients was 68.7 years and the mean age of the entire dialysis patient population was 67.2 years. The most common primary cause of renal failure among new dialysis patients was diabetic nephropathy (43.8%). The actual number of new dialysis patients with diabetic nephropathy has almost been unchanged for the last few years. Diabetic nephropathy was also the most common primary disease among the entire dialysis patient population (37.6%), followed by chronic glomerulonephritis (32.4%). The percentage of dialysis patients with diabetic nephropathy has been increasing continuously, whereas the percentage of dialysis patients with chronic glomerulonephritis has been decreasing. The number of patients who underwent hemodiafiltration (HDF) at the end of 2013 was 31,371, a marked increase from that in 2012. This number is more than twice that at the end of 2011 and approximately 1.5 times the number at the end of 2012. In particular, the number of patients who underwent online HDF increased approximately fivefold over the last 2 years. Among 151,426 dialysis patients with primary causes of renal failure other than diabetic nephropathy, 10.8% had a history of diabetes. Among those with a history of diabetes, 26.8% used glycoalbumin as an indicator of blood glucose level; and 33.0 and 27.6% were administered insulin and dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-4 inhibitor, respectively, as a medication of diabetes. The facility survey showed that 9392 patients underwent peritoneal dialysis (PD). The patient survey revealed that 1920 of these PD patients also underwent another dialysis method using extracorporeal circulation, such as hemodialysis (HD) or HDF. The number of patients who underwent HD at home at the end of 2013 was 461, a marked increase from that at the end of 2012 (393).