Patients who undergo a kidney transplant have better long-term outcomes than those who receive intensive haemodialysis at home, according to a study appearing in a forthcoming issue of JASN: the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Although kidney transplant patients survive longer than those who receive home haemodialysis, the study found that transplant increased the risk of being hospitalised in the first year after the operation. The study did also show that long and frequent home haemodialysis  provided good outcomes for patients. 

Previous studies have shown that more frequent and longer dialysis at home compares well to dialysis typically carried out in dialysis centres.  It is already known that conventional hospital-based dialysis does not have as good outcomes as a transplant, but it has not been clear how intensive dialysis at home compares with a transplant.  

Karthik Tennankore, Dalhousie University, Christopher Chan, University of Toronto and colleagues compared home haemodialysis (at least 16 hours/week) with kidney transplantation. Included in the study were 173 home haemodialysis patients and 1,517 transplant recipients, who received care in a Canadian medical centre from 2000 to 2011.

Their main findings included:

  • Kidney transplant patients had a 55% to 61% (depending on organ donor type) reduced risk of treatment failure or death during the study compared with patients on long and frequent home haemodialysis. 
  • The risk of being admitted to the hospital and spending a longer time in the hospital was higher up to a year after transplantation for some patients, but lower in the long term compared to dialysis patients. 


Source: EurekAlert
Image source: freeimagescom

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References:

Tennankore KK, Joseph Kim SJ, Baer, Chan CT. Survival and hospitalization for intensive home hemodialysis compared with kidney transplantation. JASN: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Published online before print May 22, 2014, doi: 10.1681/ASN.2013111180 



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kidney failure, haemodialysis, kidney transplant Patients who undergo a kidney transplant have better long-term outcomes than those who receive intensive haemodialysis at home, according to a study appear...