Abstract
To understand the specific problems of aged patients undergoing hemodialysis, the physical characteristics and living situations of patients were reviewed.
The following patient details were compared: I) Age and original diseases of patients introduced to hemodialysis in 1982-83 and in 1992-93. II) The 10-year survival curve in patients 70 years old or more and that in the patients 50-59 years old who were introduced to hemodialysis in 1982-83. III) The age, sex and % of diabetics; visual disturbance; gait disturbance; cardio-pulmonary function; body mass index (BMI); dry weight (DW)/standard body weight (SBW) ratio; cardio-thoracic ratio (CTR); KT/VUREA; serum total protein; serum albumin; and access to the dialysis clinic in patients 70 years old or more (group H) and in patients 50-59 years old (group M) receiving maintenance hemodialysis in 1994.
An increase in the number of patients 70 years old or more and decrease in number of patients 30-39 years old were observed in 1992-93, compared with 1982-83. Patient survival was lower in aged patients. Age, sex and % of diabetics were not different between groups H and M. Visual disturbance and gait disturbance were frequent in group H. Cardio-pulmonary function was lower in group H. BMI and DIN/SBW ratio were also lower in group H. CTR was higher in group H. The KT/VUREA and serum total protein were not different, while serum albumin was lower in group H. Only 30% of patients in group H could attend the dialysis clinic by themselves.
Aged patients receiving hemodialysis showed disturbances of physical activity, and most of them had difficulty attending the outpatient dialysis clinic.
