Treatment of end-stage renal disease in children: a 15-year experience

From 1964-1979, 154 children 1 to 16 years of age with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) were treated in a regional pediatric dialysis and transplant program. The incidence of ESRD was 1.6 per million total population per year. The survival rate of children undergoing dialysis for an average of 10 months was 93%. After living donor kidney transplantation (LD), patients survival rates in 60 children were 89% at 5 years, 83% at 10 years, and 74% at 15 years. After cadaver donor kidney transplantation (CD), patient survival rates in 85 children were 70% at 5 and 10 years. LD kidney survival was 71% at 5 years, 55% at 10 years, and 40% at 15 years, whereas CD kidney survival was 43% at 5 years and 31% at 10 years. The survival of first and second transplants was similar. Patient and kidney survival have improved since 1972. The survival rate of 26 children 1 to 5 years of age was 46%, but patients with Wilms' tumor accounted for most of the deaths. We attribute these favorable long-term results in children to an integrated program of dialysis and transplantation with special pediatric facilities.