Increased Hemodialysis Improves Survival Rates

A new study has found that more-frequent hemodialysis treatments can significantly increase the survival rate of patients suffering from irreversible kidney failure.

Researchers from the University of Washington (Seattle, USA) and Northwest Kidney Centers (Seattle, WA, USA) compared survival rates in 117 patients treated by short-daily hemodialysis in 2003 and 2004 with patients reported in the 2003 data from the United States Renal Data System (USRDS). Expected mortality was calculated from the USRDS and compared with observed actual mortality. The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was used to adjust for differences in patient age, sex, race, and cause of renal failure.

The SMR for the short-daily hemodialysis patients was found to be 0.39, statistically significantly better than data from the overall U.S. population of hemodialysis patients, indicating that daily hemodialysis patients had a 61% better survival than regular hemodialysis patients. The study was published in the October 2006 issue of Hemodialysis International.

"More frequent hemodialysis has been shown to improve patient well-being, reduce symptoms during and between treatments, and have beneficial effects on clinical outcomes,” said lead author Christopher R. Blagg M.D., of Northwest Kidney Centers.

During regular hemodialysis, the patient spends around six hours two to three times a week connected to a dialysis machine. The dialysis machine filters out unwanted wastes from a continuous flow of blood through a semipermeable membrane that is immersed in a special dialysis solution. Frequent hemodialysis involves treatment five or more times a week.



Related Links:
University of Washington
Northwest Kidney Centers