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Child Death Risk from End-Stage Kidney Disease Declines

08
May

A new study indicates that improvements in dialysis have led to lower rates of death for children and adolescents with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). This is certainly great news for children with ESKD.

Scientists identified a total of 23,401 children and adolescents who initiated ESKD treatment with dialysis during the last two decades, and noted a significant decrease in mortality rates among these young patients over that time period.

According to the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse, the annual rate for CKD in the pediatric population (age 19 and under) is =one or two new cases in every 100,000 children. Organ transplant remains the treatment of choice to maximize survival, growth and development among children, according to the study authors. While children with ESKD await transplant, dialysis is a life-saving therapy.

While mortality rates in children receiving maintenance dialysis are at least 30 times higher than the general pediatric population, the authors highlighted that “there have been substantial improvements in the care of children with ESKD between 1990 and 2010. Improved pre-dialysis care, advances in dialysis technology and greater experience of clinicians may each have played a role.”

The investigators noted that further research is needed to determine the specific factors responsible for this decrease in mortality rates.

The findings were published in the May 8 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Source: Daily Rx