Survival in a community hospital dialysis center.

The survival experience of 213 patients with end-stage renal disease treated over a 10-year period in a community hospital dialysis center is the focus of the study. Statistical assessments of the effects of risk factors and alternative treatment modalities on patient survival are made using survival functions and proportional hazards regression models. Comparisons of the data base and the main results with those of previous published reports are presented. A key result is our finding of improved survival since the introduction of a continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis program in 1980. This result is discussed in some detail.