Deaths within 90 days from starting renal replacement therapy in the ERA-EDTA Registry between 1990 and 1992

Background. Patients who die within 90 days of commencing renal replacement therapy (RRT) may be recorded by some centres and not others, and hence da ta on mortality and survival may not be comparable. However, it is essentia l to compare like with like when analysing differences between modalities, centres and registries. It was decided, therefore, to look at the incidence of deaths within 90 days in the ERA-EDTA Registry, and to try to define th e characteristics of this group of patients. Methods. Between 1 January 1990 and 31 December 1992, 78 534 new patients s tarted RRT in 28 countries affiliated to the ERA-EDTA Registry, Their mean age was 54 years and 31% were over 65 years old. Eighty-two per cent of the patients received haemodialysis (HD), 16% peritoneal dialysis (PD) and 2% had preemptive transplantation as first mode of treatment. Results. From January 1990 to March 1993 the overall incidence of deaths wa s 19% and 4% of all patients died within 90 days from the start of RRT. Amo ng those dying within 90 days 59% were over 65 years compared to 53% over 6 5 years in those dying beyond this time (P < 0.0001). The modality of RRT d id not influence the distribution of deaths before and after 90 days. Vascu lar causes and malignancy were more common in those dying after 90 days, wh ile there were more cardiac and social causes among the early deaths. Morta lity from social causes was twice as common in the elderly, who had a signi ficantly higher chance of dying from social causes within 90 days compared to those aged under 65 years. The overall incidence of deaths within 90 day s was 3.9% but there was a wide variation between countries, from 1.8% to 1 1.4%. Finally, patient survival at 2 years was markedly influenced in diffe rent age groups when deaths within 90 days were taken into account. Conclusions. The incidence of deaths within 90 days from the start of RRT w as 3.9%, with a marked variation between countries ranging from 1.8% to 11. 4%, which probably reflects mainly differences in reporting these deaths, a lthough variable selection criteria for RRT may contribute. Deaths within 9 0 days were significantly more frequent in elderly patients with more early deaths resulting from cardiac and social causes, while vascular causes of death and malignancy were more common in those dying after 90 days. Patient survival analyses should take into account deaths within 90 days from the start of RRT, particularly when comparing results between modalities, count ries and registries.