DOPPS estimates of patient life years attributable to modifiable hemodialysis practices in the United States.

Data from the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS) allow estimation of the percentage of patients outside published hemodialysis guidelines and their associated mortality risk. We estimated the number of life years that could be gained from adherence to four of these guidelines and two other modifiable practices, i.e. dialysis dose, phosphate control, improved anemia, partial correction of serum albumin, reduced interdialytic weight gain and less use of catheters for vascular access. We extrapolated DOPPS data on these practices and guidelines to the US hemodialysis population for a 5-year projected period. Of the practices we examined, the highest relative risk of mortality was associated with having albumin <3.5 g/dl (relative risk=1.38, p<0.0001); 20.5% of the patients in the study fell outside the target range. The adjusted sum of the patient years attributable to all six practice patterns was 143,617; a more conservative estimate, modeling life years potentially gained by bringing half of all patients outside targets within them, is 69,367. The magnitude of potential savings in life years should encourage greater adherence to guidelines and practices that are significantly associated with better survival.