Dialysis patient flow study published in renowned medical journal

Munich – 10 August 2016: End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients who are referred, educated and better informed about the dialysis modalities at an early stage, can take better choices and have a more planned dialysis start. These are some of the findings of the study “Type of Referral, Dialysis Start and Choice of Renal Replacement Therapy Modality in an International Integrated Care Setting” which has been published in the PLoS ONE online journal. The study represents the work of Diaverum clinics in Hungary, Poland, and Romania. Diaverum, one of the leading renal care providers worldwide, is actively engaged in clinical research with a strong patient focus.

Patients suffering from end-stage renal disease (ESRD) require renal replacement therapy (RRT), which means either lifelong dialysis or a kidney transplantation. While today haemodialysis (HD) is much more commonly used than peritoneal dialysis (PD), both dialysis treatment modalities should be considered as complementary and non-competitive treatments.

The study

The Diaverum study, published in the PLoS ONE online journal, looks at the flow of more than 600 patients from early diagnosis of chronic kidney disease to the moment of dialysis start (HD/PD) during 2012. It analyses the factors that lead to certain decisions and the reasons behind planned and unplanned dialysis starts, particularly in those patients previously followed by nephrologists.

The results

The results show that almost half of the new renal patients (49%) arrived to the Diaverum clinics less than three months before starting dialysis, also known as ‘late referred patients’. As a consequence, 58% of all patients started unplanned with a temporary vascular catheter. Patients who received information and education had a more planned dialysis start. This underlines the importance of patient involvement.

The percentage of patients who had PD as a first chronic RRT varied largely among different studied subgroups. PD was used in 11% of total incident patients, but was higher on modality informed patients (12%), early referred (16%) and planned starters (18%).

“PD has been shown to be a very good alternative for many ESRD patients. With our scientific work, we aim at facilitating for patients to have a real choice when deciding on the treatment modality,” explains Dr Jörgen Hegbrant, Chief Medical Officer at Diaverum. “The publication of this study on PLoS ONE is a huge recognition”.

According to Dr Belén Marrón, Diaverum’s Global Medical Director Home Therapies, the data indicate that there is an opportunity for improvement as “only 23% of patients had what Diaverum would call optimal care”. This implies that patients are followed-up at clinics by nephrologists for at least one year, that they are educated on dialysis modalities and that they undergo a planned dialysis start. In this particular setting, PD incidence was the highest of all, reaching 22%. She adds that the results of the study emphasise that “additional efforts” to increase early referral and planned start are needed in the medical community.

Diaverum scientific affairs

Diaverum is highly active in world-class clinical research with a strong patient focus, and has successfully carried out a number of large-scale multinational studies. Results have been published in several of the world’s most respected scientific journals. The research isbased on the needs and demands of the patients and addresses areas such as preventing the risk for dialysis, making dialysis more effective, finding solutions to minimise risks of dialysis side effects, and finding proof that dialysis related drugs have a real positive effect.

PLoS ONE is an online journal, featuring reports of original research from all disciplines within science and medicine. The study “Type of Referral, Dialysis Start and Choice of Renal Replacement Therapy Modality in an International Integrated Care Setting” can be accessed at http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155987 

Press Contact

Ulrike Beringer

Corporate Communications Diaverum

E-mail: Ulrike.Beringer@diaverum.com

Phone: 49 89 45 2444 124

About Diaverum

At Diaverum, our mission is to improve the quality of life for renal patients by revitalising them both physically and emotionally. Being one of the world’s leading renal care providers, Diaverum offers a holistic approach, from preventive and early stage renal care to all renal replacement therapies. As a product independent provider — the largest in Europe — we are able to focus solely on caring for the individual needs of our patients. Our experience in renal care dates back 20 years, when the first dialysis clinic was established, previously under our former name Gambro Healthcare. Today, 9,000 employees care for 28,000 patients in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America, Middle East/Asia and Australia/New Zealand. Diaverum has its roots in Lund, Sweden and a corporate office located in Munich, Germany.

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