Limitations: This study was only a single-centre analysis of retrospective data and could be subject to selection bias. BGB324 Clinical
outcomes and quality of life in elderly patients on PD versus HD. Harris et al.9 ran a prospective, cohort study of 174 new dialysis patients from four hospital-based renal units in London, specifically looking at an elderly cohort of 70 years and above and comparing modality outcomes. This ‘new’ patient cohort was compared with a prevalent patient cohort during the study period of 12 months. There were no significant differences in comorbidity between the PD and HD groups in new and prevalent patients. The results demonstrated no effect of modality on 12-month survival after controlling for potential confounding factors
such as patient comorbidity and included analysis of dialysis adequacy. Limitations: This was an observational cohort study of a single centre with small numbers that cannot be interpreted without considering LY294002 clinical trial selection bias and generalizability. Thirty per cent of the dialysis population elected not to take part in the study, which could represent a participation bias and there was only a 12-month follow up. Although this study made adjustments for patient comorbid factors, the analysis did not examine specific diseases or their severity. Survival on haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis over 12 years with emphasis on nutritional parameters. Avram et al.2 performed a study enrolling 959 patients on HD and PD, commencing dialysis at a single centre in the United States from 1987 to 1999, to compare modality survival. This was DNA ligase a retrospective analysis of medical records. The cumulative survival over 12 years was
significantly higher in HD patients. This study demonstrated a 44% lower mortality risk for patients on HD compared with PD. Limitations: There were limited data on dialysis adequacy as PD adequacy was not routinely measured in the United States before 1992. A selection bias, once again, may have influenced the outcomes. There was no data adjustment for comorbid conditions other than diabetes and AIDS. Comparative mortality of haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients in Canada. Murphy et al.10 performed a prospective cohort study analysing mortality data from 822 consecutive patients commencing dialysis in 11 Canadian centres between March 1993 and November 1994. Extensive comorbidity data were collected prior to patient commencement. Average follow up was 24 months. The PD and HD patient groups differed considerably at baseline with respect to age, haemoglobin (Hb), albumin and comorbidity score (significantly higher in the HD group). Data were also obtained regarding acuity of onset of renal failure (majority in HD cohort) and severity of disease. When the mortality data for both groups were adjusted for comorbidity, survival for both groups was similar.