title: Characteristics of dialysis prescriptions in the US, 1986-1987.
abstract: We analyzed the dialysis prescription parameters for 4,532 randomly chosen incident Medicare patients who reached end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in 1986-87. Data were abstracted from the patient's record by the ESRD Networks. Dialysis prescription was assessed at one month following onset of ESRD. Eighty-four percent (3,823) of these patients were initially treated with hemodialysis, while the remaining 16 percent (709) were treated initially with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Average age for hemodialysis patients was 58, which was five years older than the average found for CAPD patients. Black patients were heavier than white patients by three kilograms, on average; black patients also had a somewhat higher body mass index. Hemodialysis prescriptions averaged 2.9 treatments per week, for a total of 9.8 hours of hemodialysis per week. Black patients had a four percent longer hemodialysis prescription (hours) per week than did white patients. Although black patients were heavier than white patients, their prescribed Kt/V was similar to that prescribed for white patients. On average, the prescribed Kt/V was 1.0. Twenty-two percent of patients had a prescribed Kt/V of less than 0.80. Compared to ESRD patients treated in the European Dialysis and Transplant Association (EDTA), the prescription for this sample of incident US hemodialysis patients was 25 percent shorter in total hours per week. Dialyzers were reused in approximately 65 percent of hemodialysis patients. CAPD patients had an average prescription of 52 liters of exchange per week with typically four exchanges per day and two liters per exchange.
mesh_terms: D001835:Body Weight; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D044469:Racial Groups; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States