Current status of dialytic therapy in Korea.

The status of dialytic therapy in Korea at the end of 2001 was reported by the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) registry committee of Korean Society of Nephrology, where data were collected through an internet on-line registry program. The number of dialysis centres was 335 and the number of haemodialysis machines was 5529. The total number of patients with dialysis was 23,057 (haemodialysis 17,568, peritoneal dialysis 5489). Prevalence and incidence of dialysis patients were 477.5 and 96.4 patients per million population. The most common primary cause of end-stage renal diseases was diabetic nephropathy (41.5%), hypertensive nephrosclerosis (15.4%), and chronic glomerulonephritis (13.6%). Eighty-six percent of haemodialysis patients were on dialysis therapy three times a week, the mean urea reduction ratio was 66.7 +/- 8.68% and mean Kt/V was 1.250 +/- 0.292 in male patients; 1.526 +/- 0.361 in female patients. The technical survival of haemodialysis in 5 years was 30.2% and peritoneal dialysis was 13.8%. The common complication of haemodialysis patients was hypertension (43.3%), gastrointestinal disease other than peptic ulcer (8.0%), congestive heart failure (7.6%), and of peritoneal dialysis patients were also hypertension (28.8%), congestive heart failure (5.0%), and peritonitis (4.8%). The most common causes of death were cardiac diseases (26.9%), vascular diseases, including cerebrovascular accidents (22.7%), and infection (17.8%).