Infants on Peritoneal Dialysis Are Surviving Longer

More than three quarters of neonates and infants who require chronic peritoneal dialysis in the first year of life survive at least three years

"Historically, children under one year of age at dialysis initiation experienced an exceptionally high mortality rate," Dr. Bradley A. Warady, from Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri, told Reuters Health by email. "During the recent era, it now appears that the survival of these same children approximates that of older children."

Medical and surgical management of infants with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) has improved in recent years, but it is unclear whether outcomes with chronic dialysis have improved over time.

Dr. Warady and colleagues used data from the North American Pediatric Renal Trials and Collaborative Studies (NAPRTCS) to evaluate outcomes of 628 children.