title: Recovery of renal function in patients receiving haemodialysis treatment.
abstract: The aim of this study was to review all cases of recovery of renal function in chronic haemodialysis patients, observed in the last ten years. During the study period, 218 chronic renal failure patients were managed on haemodialysis for a minimum of 90 days. In 17 cases (8%), it was possible to interrupt dialysis after 95 to 529 days. The probability of renal function recovery was higher in patients with chronic interstitial nephritis (P=.04) or autoimmune diseases (P=.07), as well as in those starting haemodialysis treatment at a frequency of two sessions per week (P=.02). No significant differences in age, gender, glomerular filtration rate at the beginning of haemodialysis treatment, or comorbidity rate were observed. Seven patients returned to haemodialysis treatment after a dialysis-free period of 11 +/- 7 months. Two patients died for reasons unrelated to renal failure treatment, and another patient was moved to another hospital following 35 months without dialysis. The other 14 patients are alive and 8 are dialysis-free, with a monitoring period of 13 to 106 months. The conclusion reached is that there is no reason why residual kidney function should inexorably worsen after the start of haemodialysis treatment, and that functional recovery is possible in some patients.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Milagros
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fernández-Lucas
authors.forename: José L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Teruel-Briones
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gomis
authors.forename: Jhon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fernández-Rodríguez
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Roso
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fernández-Rodríguez
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Quereda
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000502:physiology*; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020127:Recovery of Function; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies