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Background: Controversy surrounds which factors are important for predicting early mortality after dialysis initiation (DI). We investigated associations of predialysis course and circumstances affecting planning and execution of DI with mortality following DI. Methods: Among 1580 patients participating in the Peridialysis study, a study of causes and timing of DI, we registered features of predialysis course, clinical and biochemical data at DI, incidence of unplanned suboptimal DI, contraindications to peritoneal dialysis (PD) or hemodialysis (HD), and modality preference, actual choice, and cause of modality choice. Patients were followed for 12 months or until transplantation. A flexible parametric model was used to identify independent factors associated with all-cause mortality. Results: First-year mortality was 19.33%. Independent factors predicting death were high age, comorbidity, clinical contraindications to PD or HD, suboptimal DI, high eGFR, low serum albumin, hyperphosphatemia, high C-reactive protein, signs of overhydration and cerebral symptoms at DI. Among 1061 (67.2%) patients who could select dialysis modality based on personal choice, 654 (61.6%) chose PD, 368 (34.7%) center HD and 39 (3.7%) home HD. The 12-months survival did not differ significantly between patients receiving PD and in-center HD. Conclusions: First-year mortality in incident dialysis patients was in addition to high age and comorbidity, associated with clinical contraindications to PD or HD, clinical symptoms, hyperphosphatemia, inflammation, and suboptimal DI. In patients with a “free” choice of dialysis modality based on their personal preferences, PD and in-center HD led to broadly similar short-term outcomes.

BackgroundPeripheral arterial disease and vascular calcifications contribute significantly to the outcome of dialysis patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic role of severity of abdominal aortic calcifications and peripheral arterial disease on outcome of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients using methods easily available in everyday clinical practice.MethodsWe enrolled 249 PD patients (mean age 61 years, 67% male) in this prospective, observational, multicenter study from 2009 to 2013. The abdominal aortic calcification score (AACS) was assessed using lateral lumbar X ray, and the ankle-brachial index (ABI) using a Doppler device.ResultsThe median AACS was 11 (range 0 – 24). In 58% of the patients, all 4 segments of the abdominal aorta showed deposits, while 19% of patients had no visible deposits (AACS 0). Ankle-brachial index was normal in 49%, low (< 0.9) in 17%, and high (> 1.3) in 34% of patients. Altogether 91 patients (37%) died during the median follow-up of 46 months. Only 2 patients (5%) with AACS 0 died compared with 50% of the patients with AACS ≥ 7 ( p < 0.001). The adjusted hazard ratio for all-cause mortality was 4.85 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.94 – 24.46) for aortic calcification (AACS ≥ 7), 2.14 for diabetes (yes/no), 0.93 for albumin (per 1 g/L), and 1.04 for age (per year). A low or high ABI were not independently associated with mortality.ConclusionsSevere aortic calcification was a strong predictor of all-cause mortality in PD patients. The evaluation of aortic calcifications by lateral X ray is a simple method that allows the identification of high-risk patients.

Background The mortality following blood stream infection (BSI) and risk of subsequent BSI in relation to dialysis modality, vascular access, and other potential risk factors has received relatively little attention. Consequently, we assessed these matters in a retrospective cohort study, by use of the Danish nation-wide registries. Methods Patients more than 17 years of age, who initiated dialysis between 1.1.2010 and 1.1.2014, were grouped according to their dialysis modality and vascular access. Survival was modeled in time-dependent Cox proportional hazard analyses. Potential risk factors confined by a modified Charlson comorbidity index (MCCI), were subsequently assessed in stepwise selection models. Results At baseline, 764 patients received peritoneal dialysis (PD), and 434, 479, and 782 hemodialysis (HD) patients were dialyzed by use of arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs), tunneled catheters (TCs), and non-tunneled catheters (NTCs), respectively. We identified 1069 BSIs with an overall incidence rate of 17.7 episodes per 100 person years, and 216 BSIs occurred more than one time in the same patient. HRs of post BSI mortality relative to PD were 3.20 (95% CI 1.86–5.50; p

Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) is a potentially devastating complication of peritoneal dialysis\ud (PD). Diagnosis is often delayed due to the lack of effective and accurate diagnostic tools. We\ud therefore examined peritoneal effluent for potential biomarkers that could predict or confirm the\ud diagnosis of EPS and would be valuable in stratifying at-risk patients, and driving appropriate\ud interventions. Using prospectively collected samples from the Global Fluid Study and a cohort of\ud Greek PD patients, we utilized 2D SDSPAGE/ MS and iTRAQ to identify changes in the peritoneal\ud effluent proteome from patients diagnosed with EPS and controls matched for treatment exposure. We\ud employed a combinatorial peptide ligand library to compress the dynamic range of protein\ud concentrations, to aid identification of low-abundance proteins. In patients with stable membrane\ud function, fibrinogen γ-chain and heparan sulphate proteoglycan core protein progressively\ud increased over time on PD. In patients who developed EPS, collagen-α1(I), γ-actin and Complement\ud factors B and I were elevated up to five years prior to diagnosis. Orosomucoid-1 and a2-HSglycoprotein chain-B were elevated about one year before diagnosis, while apolipoprotein A-IV and\ud α1-antitrypsin were decreased compared to controls. Dynamic range compression resulted in an\ud increased number of proteins detected with improved resolution of protein spots, compared to the full\ud fluid proteome. Intelectin-1, dermatopontin, gelsolin and retinol binding protein-4 were elevated in\ud proteome-mined samples from patients with EPS compared to patients that had just commenced\ud peritoneal dialysis. Thus, prospective analysis of peritoneal effluent uncovered proteins indicative of\ud inflammatory and pro-fibrotic injury worthy of further evaluation as diagnostic/prognostic markers.