Higher Hemodialysis Doses Linked with Longer Survival

A recent study concerning the effects of delivered doses of hemodialysis [single-pool Kt/V (spKt/V)] among 68,110 patients from 2001 to 2005, found baseline spKt/V showed a weak negative association with premature mortality in conventional Cox models, but higher time-averaged spKt/V was strongly associated with lower mortality risk. In marginal structural models, compared with a spKt/V range of 1.2 to <1.4, a spKt/V range of <1.2 was associated with a 67% increased risk of mortality, while mortality risks were lower with higher spKt/V. The greatest survival advantage of a higher dialysis dose was observed for a spKt/V range of 1.8 to <2.0. The findingswere published in the American Journal of Nephrology.