Icodextrin reduces mortality and the drop-out rate in Japanese peritoneal dialysis patients

Although numerous reports have shown that the use of icodextrin solution, as compared with conventional dextrose solutions, provides various clinical benefits, data on the impact of icodextrin solution on mortality and drop-out are sparse. In the present retrospective study, we compared clinical outcomes in a large cohort of patients prescribed either icodextrin or dextrose solution for the long dwell. A total of 7808 patients across Japan who were using Baxter peritoneal dialysis (PD) solutions in 2004 were included in this cross-sectional analysis. Outcomes data were retrieved from the Baxter Japan database. The annual drop-out rate in the icodextrin group (8.9%) was significantly (p < 0.0001) lower than that in the dextrose group (14.5%). The annual mortality rate was also lower (6.6% vs. 13.5%, p < 0.0001). Using data from the 2000 report of the Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy, the relative risk of death in the icodextrin group, regardless of PD duration, was consistently lower than that in hemodialysis patients. These results indicate that, in PD, the use of icodextrin solution (as compared with dextrose solution) significantly reduces both mortality and drop-out rate.