HOSPITALIZATIONS IN DIALYSIS END-STAGE RENAL-FAILURE PATIENTS

The cost of treating end-stage renal failure (ESRF) patients includes not only the cost of dialysis and related medications but also the cos t of hospitalizing these patients. This study examines the hospitaliza tion rate in ESRF patients. During 1993, 126 ESRF patients were dialyz ed in our institution. All hospitalizations were recorded. The study i ncluded 213 hospitalizations in 91 patients (mean 1.7 hospitalizations /patient/year). The mean length of each hospitalization was 4.8 +/- 5. 6 days. Seventy-six hospitalizations were for 1 day. Access (vascular and peritoneal) was the main cause (31%), but these admissions account ed for only 8.7% of days in hospital, while cardiovascular and infecti ons represented 38 and 29%, respectively. No correlation was found bet ween type of dialysis, sex and erythropoietin use and hospitalization rate. 46.5% of admissions were uremia-dialysis related but they accoun ted for only 30% of the days in hospital. Age and the presence of diab etes mellitus correlated with hospitalization not related to uremia an d/or dialysis. Thus, most of the time spent in hospital was secondary to conditions unrelated to uremia and/or dialysis. Efforts should be m ade to reduce the dialysis-uremia-related hospitalizations and thus re duce the cost of treatment.