LONDON, Ontario, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Use of home-based dialysis is increasing in developing and developed nations, but more so in developing countries, Canadian researchers said.
Dr. Arsh Jain of the University of Western Ontario in London and colleagues analyzed dialysis records from 1997 to 2008 in 130 countries.
Jain said dialysis treatments for kidney failure come in two forms -- peritoneal dialysis, usually done at home, and hemodialysis, which is predominantly clinic-based.
During peritoneal dialysis, fluids that are pumped into the abdominal cavity collect wastes pulled in from the blood and are then removed from the body. During hemodialysis, blood is removed, purified by a machine, and returned to the body, Jain said.
Jain and colleagues found there were approximately 196,000 peritoneal dialysis patients worldwide in 2008, representing 11 percent of the dialysis population. In total, 59 percent of peritoneal dialysis patients were treated in developing countries and 41 percent in developed countries.
Over the 12-year study period, the number of peritoneal dialysis patients increased in developing countries by 24.9 patients per million population and in developed countries by 21.8 per million population.
The proportion of all dialysis patients treated with peritoneal dialysis did not change in developing countries but declined in developed countries by 5.3 percent.
The findings were published in the Journal of the American Society Nephrology.
