BACKGROUND Many patients with kidney failure "crash" onto dialysis or initiate dialysis in an unplanned fashion. There are varying definitions, but essentially, a patient is labeled as having a crash dialysis start if he or she has little to no care by a nephrologist prior to starting dialysis. A patient is labeled as having an unplanned dialysis start when he or she starts dialysis with a cath...

BACKGROUND This study examines the patients' need for information and guidance in the selection of dialysis modality, and in establishing and practicing home dialysis. The study focuses on patients' experiences living with home dialysis, how they master the treatment, and their views on how to optimize communication with health services and the potential of telemedicine. METHODS We used an in...

BACKGROUND Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has recently become an important issue. It reportedly affects morbidity and mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). In this study, we investigated whether early referral and planned dialysis improve the HRQOL and depression of patients with ESRD. METHODS We prospectively enrolled newly diagnosed patients with ESRD, from 31 h...

INTRODUCTION National chronic dialysis data are fundamental for treatment planning. OBJECTIVE To report data of the annual survey of the Brazilian Society of Nephrology about chronic kidney disease patients on dialysis in July 2012. METHODS A survey based on data of dialysis units from the whole country. The data collection was performed by using a questionnaire filled out on-line by the di...

INTRODUCTION As economic development continues in China, it is important to evaluate recent changes in dialysis status. However, China lacks a national dialysis registry. This elevates the need to use local registry systems like the Shanghai Dialysis Registry to gain an overview of dialysis status in developed cities in China. METHODS Data were collected from the Shanghai Dialysis Registry fr...

INTRODUCTION The treatment offered to chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients before starting hemodialysis (HD) impacts prognosis. OBJECTIVE We seek differences among incident HD patients according to the distance between home and the dialysis center. METHODS We included 179 CKD patients undergoing HD. Patients were stratified in two groups: "living near the dialysis center" (patients whose h...

In 1973, almost 40% of the more than 10 000 dialysis patients were treated by home hemodialysis. Today, with more than a quarter of a million dialysis patients in the United States, fewer than 2000 are on home hemodialysis. A number of factors have contributed to this change. First, many nephrologists and administrators who were developing new dialysis units had little or no practical experienc...

BACKGROUND Home-based dialysis, including peritoneal dialysis (PD) and home hemodialysis (HHD), is associated with improved health related quality of life and reduced health resource costs. It is uncertain to what extent initial preferences for dialysis modality influence the first dialysis therapy actually utilized. We examined the relationship between initial dialysis modality choice and firs...

Peritoneal dialysis can be considered a "wearable" dialysis therapy. However, patients typically require 3 or 4 daily exchanges, each taking 20-40 minutes and potentially increasing the risk of infection by repeated disconnection and reconnection. Although peritoneal dialysis cyclers allow patients to be "free" from their machine for 13-15 hours, they similarly need a supply of fresh dialysate....