Search

The practice of reusing dialysers in renal units in the UK was surveyed by examining the patient questionnaires returned to the EDTA registration committee for 1976 and by a special questionnaire sent to all UK renal units. Altogether 65.6% of the 1785 patients treated with non-disposable dialysers and 49.6% of the 1109 treated with disposable dialysers reused their equipment. Reuse of dialysers caused some morbidity but no mortality. Most centres where disposable dialysers were used accepted that their reuse was necessary because of financial constraints and was ethically defensible.

The number of new paediatric patients accepted for treatment by regular dialysis and transplantation increased more slowly than in previous years. Survival in children above 10 years appeared to be better with all modes of therapy than in younger children. The only improvement in survival noted among the different treatments was in patient and graft survival of living donor transplants. A quarter of all children transferred to home dialysis were less than 10 years of age. Nephronophthisis and Henoch-Schonlein nephritis emerged as major primary renal diseases. In 1975 the proportion of retransplants in children rose and living donor grafts from fathers were more common than from mothers. Evening dialysis was practised more frequently in both hospital and home dialysis and rehabilitation in these patients seemed to be better than for those dialysed at other times. Renal osteodystrophy was present in at least half of all children dialysed for more than 1 year. The degree of growth retardation was affected by sex, chronological age and the primary renal disease. Body height on dialysis and after transplantation progressively reduced in the majority of children. Growth seemed to be more impaired in boys than in girls on dialysis. Bone age advanced faster than height age especially in girls. The pubertal growth spurt was usually delayed and depressed on long-term dialysis and the development of genitalia and pubic hair as well as menarche was retarded.

The results of dialysis and transplantation of children (aged less than 15 years at initial treatment) in Europe at the end of 1979 will be reviewed. Results of a survey concerning growth, bone development and pubertal state will be presented. Organisational aspects of dialysis and transplantation will be discussed. Survival and rehabilitation will be examined and differences between dialysed and transplanted patients analyzed.