Abstract
This study compared two groups of elderly patients -16 treated with IPD, and 31 treated with hemodialysis -HD. Predialysis conditions were assessed by means of a scoring system and the results were studied in terms of survival, causes of death, complications and laboratory parameters.
In the IPD group, survival was similar to the hemodialysis groups during the first 15 months but declined thereafter. IPD patients also required longer periods of hospitalizations. The causes of death were quite different: mainly cardiovascular in HD, and mainly related to peritonitis in IPD. Laboratory parameters were similar. Analysis of the scoring results showed that the patients selected for IPD had more cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. In conclusion, the results of IPD in elderly patients are comparable to those of HD in the first year. The choice of “poor risk” patients for IPD may explain, in part, the inferior long-term results with this technique.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.