Prevalence of renal replacement therapy in Veneto for 2008, 2009 and 2010.

The aim of this section is to provide descriptive data for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the Veneto Region (Italy). Data were obtained from the Veneto Dialysis and Transplantation Registry (VDTR). Patients were considered to be prevalent renal replacement therapy (RRT) patients if alive on 31 December of each year examined. Prevalence is expressed per million population (pmp). The trend for prevalence of each treatment in the period examined was estimated by random effects longitudinal logistic regression. Prevalence of RRT in Veneto in the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 was 888, 923 and 950 pmp, respectively. The prevalence of RRT patients by treatment modality showed a slight increase for hemodialysis, notable stability for peritoneal dialysis and a more pronounced increase for transplantation. Every year, about 10% of peritoneal dialysis patients shifted to hemodialysis, and 12% received a transplant. The transition probability from hemodialysis to peritoneal dialysis was negligible, and less than 5% of hemodialysis patients received a transplant. The probability of returning to hemodialysis after having received a transplant was less than 2% a year. Bicarbonate hemodialysis slowly increased from 1998 to 2010, both in percentage and in prevalence per million population; conversely, hemodiafiltration (HDF) showed a mild but constant decrease. Automated peritoneal dialysis (APD), which was quantitatively almost negligible in 1998, reached the same level as continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) in 2010. The prevalence of patients undergoing living donor transplants almost doubled in the period 1998-2010. The increase of prevalence over time was not proportional for the 3 modalities of RRT: hemodialysis prevalence grew slowly, peritoneal dialysis prevalence remained stable, and renal transplant prevalence quickly increased.