Prognostic Survival Factors in Elderly Renal Failure Patients Treated with Peritoneal Dialysis: A Nine-Year Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background Few studies specifically investigating elderly patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) have been conducted and great uncertainty remains on the factors involved in the vital prognosis. The objective of this study was to describe our population of patients aged 75 years or older at the time PD was initiated and to study their survival in terms of the relevant nephro-geriatric criteria inventoried at the beginning of treatment. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the data of all the elderly patients that began first-line PD in our center between 1 January 1997 and 31 July 2006 ( n = 112). Results Mean duration of survival on PD was 19.6 ± 13.9 months; by the end of the study 87 patients had died and 7 had been transferred to hemodialysis. The Cox model multivariate analysis of survival allowed us to select 5 independent predictive variables that had a considerable impact on survival: absence of nephrologic care before dialysis, associated comorbidities (Charlson Comorbidity Index), loss of physical and/or mental autonomy (AGGIR group), and polymedication. Above and beyond the weight of these clinical variables, institutionalization or, more generally, social isolation was a determining factor for the duration of survival in PD. Conclusion Any patient considered for peritoneal dialysis should be evaluated by a multidisciplinary team in collaboration with geriatric specialists for both the overall medical situation and the social and family environment.