Maintenance haemodialysis in Singapore

The chronic haemodialysis programme of the Singapore General Hospital started in 1968 as a hospital-based fully nurse-assisted programme. This has since expanded to include Self Dialysis and Home Dialysis programmes. Data of 425 patients who entered the dialysis programmes was analysed retrospectively. The major cause of end stage renal failure was chronic glomerulonephritis (52%). Almost half of the patients in the haemodialysis programme were patients on self-dialysis (49%). There were 157 withdrawals and 116 deaths. Survival has improved tremendously with the use of treated water for dialysis from 1981. The 5 year survival in an earlier group of patients dialysed with untreated water was 48% compared with 81% in a late group dialysed with treated water (p less than 0.001). The pattern of complications has also changed with a lower incidence of dialysis osteomalacia, hypertension, hepatitis and eradication of dialysis dementia.