Whether dialysis is the best option for kidney failure and, if so, when to start, may deserve more careful consideration, according to a new study. For older adults who were not healthy enough for a , starting dialysis when their kidney function fell below a certain threshold—rather than waiting—afforded them roughly one more week of life, Stanford Medicine researchers and their colleagues found. More critically, perhaps, they spent an average of two more weeks in hospitals or , in addition to the time spent undergoing dialysis.
"Is that really what a 75- or 80-year-old patient wants to be doing?" asked Maria Montez Rath, Ph.D., a senior research engineer.
Montez Rath is the lead author on a study about dialysis, life expectancy and time at home published in . Manjula Tamura, MD, a professor of nephrology, is the senior author. "For all patients, but particularly for older adults, understanding the trade-offs is really essential," Tamura said.
"They and their physicians should carefully consider whether and when to proceed with dialysis." Patients with who are healthy enough for transplantation may receive a donated kidney, which will rid their blood of toxins and excess fluid. But that option is unavailable to many older adults who have additional health conditions such as heart or lung disease or cancer.
For those patients, physicians often recommend dialysis—a treatment that cleans the blood like healthy kidneys would—when patients progress to kidney failure. Patie.