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Background: The aim of this study is to investigate reasons for the large reported differences in renal replacement therapy (RRT) incidence between Germany and England and Wales (E&W)., Methods: Age- and sex-standardized incidence rates were calculated at day 0, day 90, and day 180 by using registry data, and early RRT mortality was studied as an indicator of ascertainment differences. Nationally representative health survey data were analyzed to provide general population prevalence data for major chronic kidney disease risk factors: hypertension, diabetes, vascular disease, obesity, and smoking. Resource data were collected from routine sources and national surveys, and literature searches were performed to explore variation in chronic kidney disease prevalence, late referral, early start, and nondialytic therapy., Results: The gap in RRT incidence between Germany and E&W increased after adjusting for differences in early mortality. The standardized day-90 incidence rate ratio was 1.79 (193.0 per million of the adult population [pmap] in Germany and 107.5 pmap in E&W) diabetes and vascular disease explained 79% of this difference. Diabetes, ischemic heart disease, and hypertension were 1.85-, 1.24-, and 1.18-fold more prevalent in Germany, whereas rates of hypertension control were 0.54-fold lower (20% versus 37% in England). Ischemic heart disease mortality rates were lower in Germany., Conclusion: Much of the difference in RRT incidence between Germany and E&W is explained by a greater prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, and vascular disease in the German general population, particularly those older than 65 years, and lower competing mortality risk.

Background: There is concern about the rising prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and of the resultant nephropathy. This study uses data from the European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ERA-EDTA) Registry to provide information on the epidemiology and outcome of renal replacement therapy (RRT) for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) due to diabetic nephropathy (DN)., Methods: Data from the following 10 registries: Austria, French-speaking Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Norway, Scotland (UK), Catalonia (Spain), Sweden, and The Netherlands were combined. Average annual changes (%) were estimated by Poisson regression. Analyses of mortality were performed by Cox regression., Results: An increase in patients with type 2 DN entering RRT has been observed (+11.9% annually, P < 0.05), while large differences in RRT incidence in this disease continue to exist between countries in Europe. There was a reduction in mortality during the first 2 years on dialysis therapy among patients with type 2 DN (AHR 0.96, 95%CI 0.94-0.97 annually). The mortality among transplant recipients decreased for both type 1 DN and nondiabetic ESRD (non DN) within the 1995-1998 cohort (type 1 DN: AHR 0.49, 95% CI 0.35-0.68; non DN: AHR 0.79, 95% CI 0.69-0.90) compared to the 1991-1994 cohort., Conclusion: This report has shown that during the last decade there has been a marked increase in the incidence of RRT for type 2 DN. Survival analysis showed that over the period 1991-1999 the mortality rates of all dialysis patients and of type 1 diabetic and nondiabetic renal transplant recipients have fallen.

Background: Provision of renal dialysis varies between UK regions., Aim: To analyse these differences in provision and investigate their causes., Design: Questionnaire-based survey., Methods: A questionnaire was posted to all renal provider units and renal commissioning groups in the UK. Questions covered issues such as dialysis modalities and patient choice. Data were collected by telephone interview (or post in some cases) and analysed using SPSS., Results: All renal provider units in the UK responded. A full range of modalities was provided by the majority of units. Clear variations in the level and quality of dialysis provision were seen between the UK regions. These included variation in choice of dialysis modality, provision of high-cost drugs, vascular access waiting times, number of support staff and availability of spare dialysis slots., Discussion: The considerable variation between UK regions in the provision of adult renal dialysis services cannot be entirely explained by age or ethnic variation, and is in part due to limited bed space, dialysis machines and support staff, as well as changes in commissioning arrangements. To meet the requirements of the renal national service framework in most regions, changes to policy and funding will be required, such that the relatively new commissioning groups implement more appropriate funding structures in closer dialogue with their provider units.

Background: Following the introduction of dialysis and transplantation for the treatment of established renal failure (ERF) 40 years ago, the UK failed to match the achievements of many other countries., Aim: To review progress with treatment for ERF in the UK in the past 20 years., Design: Review of four cross-sectional national studies, and 1997-2002 annual UK Renal Registry data., Methods: Data on UK patients on renal replacement treatment (RRT) were collated from three sources: European Registry reports for 1982-1990, surveys carried out within the UK in 1993, 1996, 1998 and 2002, and the UK Renal Registry database (1997-2002). Trends in acceptance and prevalence rates, median age, cause of ERF, and treatment modality were analysed and compared with current data from other countries., Results: The UK annual acceptance rate for RRT increased from 20 per million population (pmp) in 1982 to 101 pmp in 2002. This growth was largely in those aged over 65 years, and in those with co-morbidity. Annual acceptance rates for ERF due to diabetes rose from 1.6 to 18 pmp. The prevalence of RRT increased from 157 pmp in 1982 to 626 pmp in 2002. Hospital haemodialysis has become the main modality, and is increasingly being provided in satellite units. Although rising, UK acceptance and prevalence rates are still lower than in many developed countries., Discussion: Despite significant expansion in RRT services for adults in the UK over the last 20 years, there is evidence of unmet need, and need is expected to rise, due to demographic changes and trends in type 2 diabetes. Continuing growth in the already substantial investment in RRT will be needed, unless efforts to prevent the occurrence of ERF are successful.

Diabetic nephropathy is now the leading cause of end-stage renal disease in the Western world, and is associated with a higher patient morbidity and mortality than other causes of renal failure, largely because of associated cardiovascular disease. Numerous studies have elucidated the factors which influence its onset and progression. The St Vincent Declaration in 1994 proposed standards for the appropriate management of patients with diabetic nephropathy. We assessed whether referral to a nephrology clinic attempting to apply these standards influenced the progression of diabetic nephropathy. The results show a significant improvement in blood pressure, glycosylated haemoglobin and serum cholesterol following referral. There was a significant reduction in the rate of decline of renal function following referral in 39% of patients. With the possible exception of diabetic control there were no significant differences in the management of those that did and did not show improvement. The results show that with intensive out-patient clinic monitoring it is possible to improve the quality of patient care, and that even in established diabetic nephropathy it is possible to slow the rate of progression to end-stage renal failure.

We assessed the level of provision of renal replacement therapy for adults in England and Wales. All autonomous main renal units in England (n = 52) and Wales (n = 5) were surveyed in 1996. Data for England were compared to the 1993 National Renal Review. The acceptance rate in England 1995 was 82 (80-85) per million population (p.m.p.) compared with 67 (65-70) p.m.p. in 1991-2. The rate in 1995 in Wales was 109 (98-122) p.m.p. The prevalence rate in England was 476 p.m.p. at end-1995 compared to 393 p.m.p. in 1993, in Wales it was 487 p.m.p. The number of main renal units in England did not rise between 1993 and 1995; capacity was increased by use of more treatment shifts and temporary haemodialysis stations, and by opening more satellite units. The main growth was in hospital haemodialysis. There was an uneven geographical distribution of services. Patients accepted were older with more comorbidity. The use of better-quality processes of dialysis increased. The steady-state position for RRT will not be reached for over a decade. Health authorities will face continued pressure to fund increases in quantity and quality improvements. A stronger evidence base of the effectiveness of therapies, and a national registry to monitor the equity and cost-effectiveness of services are needed.

This study was designed to determine the extent to which differences in criteria for dialysis patient selection and availability of financial resources cause the wide variation in acceptance rates for dialysis in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We also sought to determine whether there is agreement among nephrologists in the three countries on which patients should not be offered dialysis. We used a cross-sectional survey of all members of the Canadian Society of Nephrology and the Renal Association of Great Britain, and a randomized sample of 800 members of the American Society of Nephrology. Five case vignettes were presented asking for yes/no decisions on offering or not offering dialysis, together with ranking of factors considered important. We also inquired about dialysis resources and physician demographics. We compared responses by country. More nephrologists from the United Kingdom returned responses (83%) than Canadian (53%) or American (36%) nephrologists. American nephrologists offered dialysis more than Canadian or British nephrologists (three of five cases; P < 0.04 to P < 0.001) and ranked patient/family wishes (three of five cases; P < 0.057 to P < 0.0001) and fear of lawsuit (P < 0.04 to P = 0.0012) higher than British or Canadian nephrologists. Canadian and British nephrologists reported their perception of patients' quality of life as a reason to provide (P = 0.0019) or not provide (P = 0.068 to P = 0.0026) dialysis more often than their American counterparts. Despite these differences, nephrologists from each country did not differ by more than 30% on any decision and ranked factors almost identically. Ten percent and 12% of Canadian and British nephrologists, respectively, but only 2% of American nephrologists, reported refusing dialysis due to lack of resources (P < 0.0001). We conclude that the wide variation in dialysis acceptance rates in the three countries is somewhat influenced by differences in patient selection criteria and withholding of dialysis by nephrologists based on financial constraints, but that other factors, such as differences in rates of patient nonreferral for dialysis, contribute more significantly to the variation. Generally agreed on practice guidelines for dialysis patient selection appear possible.

Urea can dissociate in vivo to form isocyanic acid which can react with hemoglobin to form carbamylated hemoglobin. Previous work has shown that formation of carbamylated hemoglobin depends upon both the severity and the duration of renal failure. To determine whether carbamylated hemoglobin can be used as an assessment of the adequacy of hemodialysis treatment, we prospectively studied 55 stable patients who regularly attended our hospital dialysis program. Carbamylated hemoglobin was greater in those patients with a Kt/V of < or = 1.1 compared to those with a Kt/V of > 1.1 (120 +/- 8 micrograms VH/gHb versus 99 +/- 7, P < 0.01), and there was a negative correlation with Kt/V (r = -0.37, P = 0.007). There were positive correlations between carbamylated hemoglobin and the time-averaged urea concentration (r = 0.4, P = 0.004), and a negative correlation with the urea reduction ratio (r = -0.37, P = 0.01). Carbamylated hemoglobin may therefore be a useful marker of the degree of uremia, just as glycosylated hemoglobin is used in the assessment of patients with diabetes mellitus.

We describe a familial form of renal Fanconi syndrome characterized by hypercalciuria, low-molecular-weight proteinuria, nephrocalcinosis and slowly progressive renal failure. Males are much more severely affected than females. The patients studied included 15 males and 10 females, and five families with up to three generations involved. Studies of the two largest families described here have already shown that their disease is inherited on the X-chromosome. The series contains the two unrelated patients originally described by Dent and Friedman in 1964 as 'hypercalcuric rickets'.

Objective: To determine the age related incidence of advanced chronic renal failure in two areas of England., Design: Prospective study of patients newly identified as having advanced chronic renal failure within a two year period; subsequent monitoring of patients' clinical course for a further 26 months., Setting: Devon and Blackburn., Subjects: Those patients in a population of 708,997 who developed advanced chronic renal failure (serum creatinine concentration greater than 500 mumol/l) for the first time during a two year period., Main Outcome Measures and Results: 210 Patients (148 per million population per year) developed advanced chronic renal failure, 117 (51%) of whom were over 70. The age related incidence rose from 58 per million per year in those aged 20-49 to 588 per million per year in those aged 80 or over. Only 54% (113) of patients were referred to a nephrologist; 120 patients (57%) needed dialysis or died within three months of presenting without receiving dialysis, and 187 (89%) died or needed dialysis within three years. After those unsuitable for further treatment had been excluded, 78 patients per million population per year aged under 80 needed to start long term renal replacement treatment., Conclusions: Many patients suitable for renal replacement treatment are still not referred for nephrological opinion and are denied treatment. If the treatment rate in the United Kingdom rose from the 1988 rate of 55.1 per million per year to 78 per million per year then the number of patients receiving treatment would rise to about 800 per million. This is double the present number and has considerable but predictable resource implications for the NHS.

The vibration sensory threshold (VST) is an easy non-invasive reproducible and sensitive bedside test of peripheral nerve function. It is impaired in pre-dialysis uraemic patients with no clinical evidence of peripheral neuropathy; tends to deteriorate during the first year of dialysis after which it remains relatively constant, and returns towards normal within one week of kidney allograft function. It is unrelated to type of dialysis, acetylator status, average serum creatinine values or serum aluminium. VST may be a valuable monitor of the adequacy of dialysis.