[Morbidity and mortality of diabetic patients on dialysis in a 10-year program: value of combined treatment].

Morbidity and mortality derived from the employed techniques after ten year experience in treating patients afflicted with end-stage diabetic nephropathy by means of dialysis are evaluated. Hemodialysis (HD) was applied to 24 patients, continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (OCPD) was employed in 33 patients and intermittent peritoneal dialysis (IPD) in nine patients. Cumulated experience with each technique was 529, 644, and 107 months, respectively. Ten patients were treated with a combination of two or three techniques. Hospitalization rate in patients receiving CAPD was 32 days/year, peritonitis was the most frequent condition leading to admittance (54.8%), followed by cardiovascular alterations (14.4%) and gastrointestinal complications (10.5%). On hemodialyzed patients, hospitalization rate was 24.7 days/year and complications derived from vascular access were the most frequent admittance cause (34%), followed by cardiovascular complications (20.4%) and hypertension (11.3%). Peritonitis (45%), vascular complications (15%) and metabolic impairment (15%) were the most frequent causes of admittance in IPD patients; hospitalization rate was 88 days/year. Actuarial survival in patients on CAPD was 92% during first year, 79% during second, and 64% during third and fourth years. On hemodialyzed patients, 90% of patients survived during first year and 80%, 48%, and 36% during second, third, and fourth years, respectively. On IPD, survival during first year was 63% and 12% at 18 months. By combinating two or the three methods, survival was 100% at 12 months and 88% at 4 years. Although CAPD as isolated technique may offer to diabetic patients a longer survival and HD a lower hospitalization rate, combined treatment (HD-CAPD-IPD) may provide a survival matchable to that achieved in renal transplantation.