title: Dialysis outcomes in India: a pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Long-term prospective studies of health outcomes for dialysis patients are common in many parts of the world but have been rare in India. As renal replacement therapy becomes more widespread and more affordable, the measurement of patient outcomes and comparison with national and international benchmarks will be a valuable tool in planning health services and demonstrating effective use of resources. To this end, we describe a pilot study of dialysis outcomes in India which could form the basis of a comprehensive national programme of data collection.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred incident patients commencing chronic haemodialysis in two north Indian nephrology centres will be followed prospectively for 12 months. Clinical outcome data will be collected comparable with that used by established dialysis registries in other countries. The economic impact of dialysis upon patients is central to the use of this treatment, so data will be collected on the direct and indirect costs of the treatment and the economic impact of dialysis on the patient and their family.
  This prospective cohort study of dialysis outcomes in northern India is a pilot for the collection of similar comparative data in dialysis centres in different states across the country with a view to the development of a national dialysis registry. The information on the economic impact of dialysis on patients and their families will provide one of the first detailed insights into this critical aspect of dialysis services.
authors.affiliation: The George Institute for Global Health, New Delhi, India; The George Institute for Global Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Vivekanand
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Jha
authors.forename: Oommen
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: John
authors.forename: Rohina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.forename: Sradha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kotwal
authors.forename: Beverley
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Essue
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jan
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Knight
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000191:economics / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000191:economics*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: clinical nephrology; clinical trial; dialysis