Seven years experience with haemodialysis treatment for end stage renal disease in Dehradun

Other than renal transplantation a maintenance programme with intermittent haemodialysis preserves life in patients of end stage renal disease. One hundred and eighty-three patients of end stage renal disease were taken for maintenance haemodialysis during last 7 years from April 1, 1991 to March 31, 1998 in a private set up in a north Indian city of Dehradun. There were 126 males (68.8%) and rest 57 (31.2%) were females. The youngest patient was 16 years old and oldest being 78 years old. Diabetic nephropathy in 55 (30.1%), bilateral contracted kidneys of unknown origin in 52 (28.4%), hypertensive nephropathy in 28 (15.3%), chronic glomerulonephropathy in 22 (12%), obstructive nephropathy in 11 (6%), tubulo-interstitial disease in 7 (3.8%), polycystic disease in 5 (2.7%) and post-transplant rejection in 3 (1.6%) contributed to the patients' pool. Only 35 patients (19.1%) had enough financial support to carry on clinically adequate dialysis with erythropoietin treatment on a regular basis. Average duration of haemodialysis therapy was only of 4 months. Only 3 patients were dialysed for more than 2 years and one patient is on haemodialysis for more than 5 years. Haemodialysis procedure perse was quite safe and accepted well with due care of technical considerations. Economic inadequacy was the major hurdle in providing more effective treatment and was also responsible for high fall outs.