TREATMENT OF END-STAGE RENAL-DISEASE IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN-EUROPE - OVERVIEW OF CURRENT STATUS AND FUTURE-NEEDS

The situation of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients in central an d eastern Europe was very poor for many years during the so called soc ialistic era. Economical and political liberation resulted in the sign ificant growth of renal replacement facilities in this region. The num ber of hemodialysis units increased significantly (56%) during the per iod 1990-1996, and the number of patients treated with this modality h as risen by 75%. More dramatic progress was achieved in peritoneal dia lysis. The number of units performing this method of renal replacement therapy (RTT) increased by 277% and the number of patients by more th an 300%. Not only quantitative but also qualitative changes were obser ved. More modern hemodialysis machines installed in the vast majority of units allow for the performance of bicarbonate dialysis, controlled ultrafiltration, and sodium profile modeling. Also, a wider choice of biocompatible dialyzers has became available during the last few year s. The number of centers performing renal transplantation has increase d significantly, but the number of renal transplants has not followed this progress. Despite all the progress, further development of all RR T methods is necessary to achieve acceptance rates comparable to those observed in developed countries.