Hospitalization in hemodialysis patients in one region of Lithuania

The objective of our study was to evaluate hospitalization rates in hemodialysis patients in the region of Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania. We analysed ambulatory case records of 187 ESRD patients dialysed in all 7 hemodialysis centers in the Kaunas region over the year 2002.

During the year 2002 the unadjusted hospitalization rate over a 1 year period in all dialysed patients (the prevalent patients, n=187) was 1.4 hospitalizations per patient year at risk. There were 17.5 hospital days per patient year at risk, the mean length of one hospitalization being 12.5 days. The most frequent causes of hospitalization were cardiovascular diseases (25%), infections (22%), and access related complications (10%). Of the 187 patients, 55 started hemodialysis in the year 2002 (incident patients). The comparison of prevalent patients with incident patients revealed a higher hospitalization rate in the incident patients (unadjusted hospitalization rate was 1.9 hospitalizations per patient year at risk). The length of hospitalization (29.1 hospital days per patient year at risk) and the mean length of one hospitalization (15.1 days) were longer in the incident patients than the prevalent patients. In the year 2002, the National Sickness Fund paid $361 per year for hospitalizations of one hemodialysis patient and $10,800 per year for the dialysis procedures of one hemodialysis patient.

The hospitalization rate in Lithuania for patients undergoing hemodialysis is similar to that of other European countries while hospitalization costs are lower.