UK Renal Registry annual report reveals uptick in peritoneal dialysis amidst renal replacement therapy numbers disrupted by COVID-19

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James Medcalf (Leicester, UK), UK Renal Registry medical director, tells Renal Interventions at UK Kidney Week (UKKW 2022; 7–9 June, Birmingham, UK), “This year for the first time, we had a levelling off of a number of new people starting on dialysis or transplant, despite years of steadily upward growth.”

He adds: “We did have an increase in the proportion of people who started on home dialysis and particularly peritoneal dialysis. So overall, less transplantation [and] less people starting off on dialysis than in previous years, but an increase in the proportion of [people] who chose peritoneal dialysis in particular as a home-based dialysis treatment.”

Other than the desperate situation brought about by COVID-19, Medcalf points out that other drivers may underpin this growth in home-based dialysis. “[…] patient groups would support the idea that if a person was suitable to have home-based dialysis that that would be second best to transplantation but nonetheless a good option, and that is being supported by changes within the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) commissioning,” he says.

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