Article - June 28, 2008 - Pittsburgh Tribune

More kidney dialysis isn't better, study reports

By Allison M. Heinrichs

More intensive treatment for kidney failure does not have any added benefit, according to a large clinical trial led by a Pittsburgh nephrologist.

The findings, which will be reported next week in the New England Journal of Medicine, are expected to have a wide impact on care for thousands of patients and change an expensive trend toward more intensive therapy.

"There are between 40,000 and 90,000 patients with acute renal failure that require dialysis in the United States every year," said Dr. Paul Palevsky, lead author and chief of the renal section at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. "The increased costs of treatment would be somewhere on the order of $100 million to $250 million every year if everyone used the intensive therapy.

"Imagine the health care that could be provided by not spending that money on an approach that actually doesn't improve outcomes," said Palevsky, a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine professor.

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