title: [Results of the international hemodialysis study DOPPS in Spain and Europe].
abstract: The Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Pattern Study (DOPPS) is an international observational study of treatment conditions and medical outcomes in hemodialysis patients. Prospective sampling has yielded long-term observational data from randomly selected groups of patients receiving treatment at representative, randomly selected hemodialysis units in each country. The data shown were collected at 20 hemodialysis units/centers in Spain. The data pertaining to Spain--Sp--refers to 575 patients and their comparison with those of the Euro-DOPPS countries--Eu--(Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy and Spain), which encompass 3,038 patients, represent the formal goal of this paper. Diabetes mellitus, at 21.5% in Eu and 21.7% in Sp, was the most common cause of renal insufficiency in dialysis and coronariopathy, as a concomitant disease, was present in 67.8% in Eu as opposed to 75.8% in Sp. Differences were observed in the incident of hypertension (73.4% in Eu vs 77.4% in Sp), hepatitis C (11.6% vs 19.5%), depression (12.7 vs 16.2%) and left ventricular hypertrophy (54.9% vs 62.3%). The patterns of vascular access were similar (79% vs 81% AV fistulas in Eu and Sp, and 10% synthetic grafts for both) and the mean applied dose of dialysis--Kt/V--smaller (1.19) in Sp than in Eu (1.24); likewise the duration of the dialysis (in minutes) was shorter (234 in Eu vs 217 in Sp) and the % of synthetic membranes used was smaller (60% in Eu vs 52% in Sp). There were no differences between the groups in the figures for urea, creatinine, albumin, nPCR, calcium, phosphate or PTH. There were also no differences in the mean values of Hb (10.7 for Eu vs 10.8 for Sp), given that the values of ferritin were noticeably lower in Sp (288 vs 355) and the dose of EPO/kg/week was higher to in Sp (115 vs 102); s.c. route was used in similar proportions (69% in Eu vs 67% in Sp). The level of medical care, understood as contact with the physician at all or almost all treatments, was noticeably better in Sp (90%) that in Eu (66%), whereas the number of patients per hour of specialized personnel and % of specialized staff, were smaller. Mortality (death/100 patients-years) was one point lower in Sp than in Eu (15.4 vs 16.3). These data suggest that an increment in dialysis time and in the percentage of synthetic membranes used, as well as in the supply of intravenous iron, would be justified.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Nefrología, Hospital General Universitario La Fe, Avda. Campanar, 21, 46009 Valencia, España.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Piera
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Bragg-Gresham
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.forename: F K
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Port
mesh_terms: D015897:Comorbidity; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000379:methods*; D013030:Spain; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome