[Epidemiology and prevention in dialysis].

During the last years, prevention of hospital infections assumed the role of primary objective for active interventions and dedicated laws for safety in work areas and for facilities accreditation defined responsibilities and preventive measures to reduce the biological risk. Dialysis centers are areas where the infective risk is high but the strict application of the Universal Measures and of specific recommendations are sufficient to reduce the risk of diffusion and transmission of pathogens. The late referral of the ESRD patient, with or without infectious comorbidity, shows an intervention field, in which a local epidemiological survey gives useful data and stimulates the data management at hospital level (Epidemiologists and nefrologists) and family doctors, to improve the disease management of very complex and high cost patients.