Feldman HI, Kinosian M, Bilker WB, Simmons C, Holmes JH, Pauly MV, Escarce JJ.
Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia 19104-6021, USA.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of dialyzer reuse on the survival of US hemodialysis patients.
STUDY DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: Nonconcurrent cohort study of 27938 patients beginning hemodialysis in the United States in 1986 and 1987.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Patient survival.
RESULTS: Dialysis in freestanding facilities reprocessing dialyzers with the combination of peracetic and acetic acids was associated with greater mortality than treatment in facilities not reprocessing dialyzers (rate ratio [RR],1.10, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.18; P=.02) In contrast, there was no significant difference between survival in freestanding facilities reprocessing dialyzers with either formaldehyde (RR,1.03, 95% CI, 0.96-1.10; P=.45) or glutaraldehyde (RR, 1.13, 95% CI, 0.95-1.35, P=.1
CONCLUSIONS: Dialysis in freestanding facilities reprocessing dialyzers with peracetic/acetic acid may be associated with worse survival than dialysis in free-standing facilities not reprocessing dialyzers or in those reprocessing with formaldehyde. We were unable to determine whether these relationships arose from greater comorbidity among patients treated in facilities using peracetic/acetic acid, poor quality of dialysis procedures in these facilities, or direct toxicity of peracetic/acetic acid. These findings raise important concerns about potentially avoidable mortality among US hemodialysis patients treated in dialysis facilities reprocessing hemodialyzers.
