Dialytic Therapy for Irreversible Uremia

Abstract

(First of Two Parts)IN the past two decades, maintenance hemodialysis (MH) for end-stage renal disease has evolved dramatically, from a tentative treatment for a small, carefully selected group of patients in Seattle,1 to a broadly applied therapy that sustains the lives of more than 80,000 patients throughout the world. Burton reported that more than 35,000 patients with end-stage renal disease were under treatment in the United States in 1978, and the number is increasing by almost 7000 per year.2 The number of patients receiving federal aid for MH is expected to reach a plateau at 55,000 to 60,000 by . . .