Putting people on dialysis early, while their kidneys still have adequate function, may increase the chances that they'll die in the year after the procedure is started.
Putting people on dialysis early, while their kidneys still have adequate function, may increase the chances that they'll die in the year after the procedure is started.
Haemodialysis mechanically filters the blood in patients with advanced kidney disease and helps control their illness and improve their quality of life. Though dialysis was earlier used for people with 1 or 2 percent of their kidney function, today people with even more than 15 percent kidney function may be receiving dialysis.
To answer the question, as to what is the optimum time for putting someone on dialysis, researchers collected data on 81,176 people who started dialysis between 1996 and 2006 in America. None of the participants had diabetes or any other medical condition except high blood pressure. It was found that about 9 percent of the participants died during the first year of treatment, and 7 percent died during the second year of dialysis. People who started dialysis early, based on their kidney function, were more likely to die in the first year than were those who started dialysis at a later stage of their disease - about 20 percent versus 7 percent.
In addition, those with the lowest levels of albumin - a protein made by the liver - also were at high risk for dying in the first year, compared with those with the highest albumin levels (21 percent versus 5 percent). Other factors linked to a high mortality risk were increasing age, being black or male and having a low body mass index (BMI). Those with high haemoglobin levels, treatment at a later stage, Asians and some types of kidney disease were linked with better survival.
The researchers found that there was a remarkably higher risk of death in those being put on dialysis at higher levels of kidney function. Doctors and patients need to discuses dialysis, including the best time when it would be most beneficial.
Haemodialysis mechanically filters the blood in patients with advanced kidney disease and helps control their illness and improve their quality of life. Though dialysis was earlier used for people with 1 or 2 percent of their kidney function, today people with even more than 15 percent kidney function may be receiving dialysis.
To answer the question, as to what is the optimum time for putting someone on dialysis, researchers collected data on 81,176 people who started dialysis between 1996 and 2006 in America. None of the participants had diabetes or any other medical condition except high blood pressure. It was found that about 9 percent of the participants died during the first year of treatment, and 7 percent died during the second year of dialysis. People who started dialysis early, based on their kidney function, were more likely to die in the first year than were those who started dialysis at a later stage of their disease - about 20 percent versus 7 percent.
In addition, those with the lowest levels of albumin - a protein made by the liver - also were at high risk for dying in the first year, compared with those with the highest albumin levels (21 percent versus 5 percent). Other factors linked to a high mortality risk were increasing age, being black or male and having a low body mass index (BMI). Those with high haemoglobin levels, treatment at a later stage, Asians and some types of kidney disease were linked with better survival.
The researchers found that there was a remarkably higher risk of death in those being put on dialysis at higher levels of kidney function. Doctors and patients need to discuses dialysis, including the best time when it would be most beneficial.
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