Renal replacement therapy in Slovenia: annual report 2001.

The total number of end-stage renal failure patients treated by renal replacement therapy increased, from 1435 at 31 December 2000 to 1542 at 31 December 2001 (7.5% increase). At the end of 2001, 771 p.m.p. end-stage renal failure patients were treated by renal replacement therapy in Slovenia, 73% of them with haemodialysis, 7.4% with peritoneal dialysis and 19.7% had a functioning graft. Incident (new) patients in 2001 were 144 p.m.p. The number of haemodialysis patients increased by 7% compared with the year before, the number of patients on peritoneal dialysis decreased by 3.4% and the number of patients with a functioning graft increased by 13.9%. The gross mortality rate of dialysis patients was stable between the years and was 10.4% in 2001. Erythropoietin therapy was prescribed to 87.3% of dialysis patients (88.9% of haemodialysis patients and 71.7% of patients on peritoneal dialysis). The number of dialysis patients positive for hepatitis B or hepatitis C virus is relatively low, 3.2% of all dialysis patients; an increased number of MRSA-positive dialysis patients is observed in 2001 (2.9% of all dialysis patients). The epidemiology of renal replacement therapy in Slovenia is in general comparable with that of the countries of the European Union.