What influences patient choice of treatment modality at the pre-dialysis stage?

Background: There is little information on factors influencing patient choice of renal replacement modality (RRM) in the UK. Pre-dialysis education programmes have been associated with increased uptake of peritoneal dialysis (PD) in other countries but their relevance in informing patient choice within UK centres has not been extensively studied. In this study, we examined how patient choice of different treatment modalities [haemodialysis (HD), PD and conservative management (CM)] is influenced by personal and demographic parameters.

Cardiac arrest following adjustment of a gastric band.

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding is an established and popular technique for achieving weight loss in the morbidly obese. It is however not without risks of morbidity and even mortality. The authors present a case report of a 46-year-old female who had a cardiac arrest after adjustment of a gastric band.