Initiation of once-a-week maintenance hemodialysis for aged uremic patients

Abstract

In order to prevent uremic complications, rehabilitate earlier and reduce the frequency of visits to the hospital, we have attempted once-a-week maintenance hemodialysis for aged uremic patients. The subjects were 11 aged uremic patients (age 68-82, 74±4) without heart failure, whose serum creatinine concentrations were below 13.0mg/dl (8.2-12.3, 9.9±1.3mg/dl). All 11 patients were in good condition with once-a-week maintenance hemodialysis for 1.5-13 months (6.6±4.3) without medical problems. The frequency of dialysis was increased to two 4-hour treatments per week because of elevated BUN or creatinine (6 of 11) and increased interdialytic body weight gain (4 of 11). Once-a-week maintenance hemodialysis is a useful therapy for aged uremic patients.