Utilization of hemodiafiltration as treatment modality in renal replacement therapy for end-stage renal disease patients--a global perspective.

The worldwide demand for renal replacement therapy (RRT) is constantly rising. In order to support both medical communities and healthcare authorities in their decision-making processes, it has become increasingly interesting to provide quantitative overviews on the global development of the number of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, as well as information on the quantitative development of individual treatment modalities. Worldwide, numerous registries and studies contribute to establishing a reliable base for understanding ESRD patient numbers. Supplementary, Fresenius Medical Care maintains an ESRD information system that enables reporting of the most recent numbers on a global scale. The Fresenius Medical Care Market & Competitor Survey (MCS) provides ESRD-related data from more than 140 countries on a yearly basis. With a combined population of around 6.7 billion, these countries represented around 97% of the world population and covered more than 99% of all treated ESRD patients at the end of 2010. The survey results can be interpreted as providing a global picture of ESRD demographics in 2010, including the number and distribution of patients on individual treatment modalities such as hemodiafiltration (HDF). The following HDF-related results are presented here: the global HDF patient population treated, the HDF patient distribution in various regions/countries, and the growth patterns of HDF and on-line HDF. The treatment of ESRD patients by HDF has gained significantly in popularity over recent years. In some regions, more patients are treated by HDF than by peritoneal dialysis and, in selected countries, HDF accounts for more than 25% of all extracorporeal dialysis treatments for ESRD patients.