Death after withdrawal from dialysis: the most common cause of death in a French dialysis population.

Background: Discontinuation of dialysis is a common cause of death in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients in North America and the UK, but appears to be unusual in the rest of Europe. The aim of this retrospective study was to characterize withdrawal from dialysis in a French population cohort.

Methods: We assessed the cause of death, and the medical and social characteristics of chronic dialysis patients in a French population who died in 2001.