Disparities in early mortality among chronic kidney disease patients who transition to peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis with and without catheters.

Purpose: The early period after chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients transition to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) represents the highest mortality risk but is variable among different patient populations and clinical circumstances. We compared early mortality outcomes among a diverse CKD population that transitioned to ESRD.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study (1/1/2002 through 12/31/2013) of CKD patients (age ≥ 18 years) who transitioned to peritoneal dialysis (PD), hemodialysis (HD) with arteriovenous fistula/grafts, and HD with catheters was performed. Multivariable Cox regression modeling was used to estimate 6-month all-cause mortality hazard ratios (HR) among the three treatment groups after adjustment for patient and clinical characteristics.

Results: Among 5373 ESRD patients (62.7 years, 41.3% females, 37.5% Hispanics, 13.3% PD, 34.9% HD with fistula/graft, 51.8% HD with catheter), 551 (10.3%) died at 6 months. Mortality rates were highest immediately after transition (299 deaths per 1000 person-years in first month). Compared to PD patients, the 6-month mortality HR (95% CI) was 1.87 (1.06-3.30) in HD with fistula/graft patients and 3.77 (2.17-6.57) in HD with catheter patients. Inpatient transition (HR 1.32), acute kidney injury (HR 2.06), and an eGFR ≥ 15 vs 5-9 (HR 1.68) at transition were also associated with higher early mortality risk.

Conclusion: Among a diverse CKD population who transitioned to ESRD, we observed considerable differences in early mortality risk among PD, HD with fistula/graft, and HD with catheter patients. The identification of patient-specific and clinical environmental factors related to high early mortality may provide insights for managing advanced stages of CKD and shared decision making.