Effect of the Hemodialysis Prescription on Patient Morbidity

Abstract

This report summarizes morbidity in 151 patients in a cooperative trial designed to evaluate the clinical effects of different dialysis prescriptions. Four treatment groups were divided along two dimensions: dialysis treatment time (long or short), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration averaged with respect to time (TAC_urea) (high or low). Dietary protein was not restricted. There was no difference in mortality between the groups. Withdrawal of patients from the high-BUN groups for medical reasons was significantly greater than withdrawal from the lowBUN groups. Hospitalization was also greater in the high-BUN groups, but dialysis treatment time had no significant effects.