A multicenter, selection-adjusted comparison of patient and technique survivals on CAPD and hemodialysis.

Four hundred and eighty CAPD and 373 HD patients started regular dialysis treatment between 1981 and 1987 in 6 dialysis centers. The CAPD patients were 6 years older, on average, than the HD patients and had more complicating conditions (43.3% with 3 or more coexisting risk factors versus 28.9% with coexisting complications). The 7-year patient survival rate was not significantly different. Cox's proportional hazards regression showed that age, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, malignancy and multisystem disease had significant adverse effects on patient survival. After correcting for the influence of these factors, no significant differences in patient survival were seen. However, after 53.5 years of age, the increase in the risk of death was significantly higher in HD than in CAPD patients. Technique survival was significantly different in the 6 centers and was better for HD than for CAPD. There was no statistically significant difference between CAPD and HD technique survival when peritonitis was eliminated as a cause of failure. Based on this 7 year analysis, CAPD would appear to be an excellent alternative to HD.