Patient survival on PAN/AN69 membrane hemodialysis: a ten year analysis

Survival characteristics over a 10 year period of 340 patients on hemodialysis (HD), using PAN/AN69 membrane, were retrospectively analyzed and compared with national data collected by the U.S. Renal Data System (USRDS). Only those patients who stayed on HD longer than three months were included. Any outcome other than death was considered as lost to follow-up. The number of expected deaths in the entire patient population according to USRDS database was 190, whereas the observed actual rate was only 120, a highly statistically significant difference. Several subgroups of patients also exhibited significant improvement in survival. Adequate HD with a biocompatible membrane is offered as one important explanation for improved patient survival.