This report provides a summary of the 2008 Slovenian Renal Replacement TherapyRegistry Annual Report. Data on renal replacement therapy (RRT) were obtained from 20 dialysis centers and one transplant center, referring 31 December 2008, with 100% response rate to individual patient questionnaires. Slovenia has a population of approximately two million. The total number of patients treated by RRT was 1967, i.e. 968 per million of population (pmp), a3.7% increase compared to 2007. In total, 1343 (68.3%) were treated by hemodialysis, 105 (5.3%) by peritoneal dialysis, and 519 (26.4%) had a functioning kidney graft. A total of 235 incident patients, 116 pmp (at day one), started RRT: their median age was 67 years, 61.8% were men, and 28% werediabetics. Regarding hemodialysis patients, 77% were dialyzed in hospital and 23% in private centers, 48% were treated with on-line hemodiafiltration and 74% with ultrapure dialysis fluid. The median weekly duration of hemodialysis was 13.5 hours, median dry body weight 68 kg, mean blood flow 283+/- 51 mL/min, and 9.2% were dialyzed using a single-needle mode. Vascular access was provided by a native arteriovenous fistula in 82%, a polytetrafluoroethylene graft in 6%, and a catheter in 12%. The crude death rate was 12.4% in dialysis patients, 1.4% in transplant recipients, and 9.4% in all RRT patients (both dialysis and transplant, incident patients at day 1 included). The longest survival on RRT is 38 years (with hemodialysis only). Slovenia has been a member of Eurotransplant since 2000; 52 kidney transplantations were performed in 2008, all from deceased donors.
F.30 Professional assessment of the situation
COBISS.SI-ID: 28722649This rewiev article describes techiques of ultrasound vascular mapping for a successful creation of arteriovenous fistula for hemodilaysis.
F.22 Improvement to existing health/diagnostic methods/procedures
COBISS.SI-ID: 28151001Rates of initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT), use of home modalitiesof treatment and patient outcomes vary considerably between countries. This paper reports the methods and baseline characteristics of countries participating in the EVEREST study (n = 46), a global collaboration examining the association between medical and non-medical factors and RRT incidence, modality mix and survival. Numbers of incident and prevalent patients were collected for current (2003-05) and historic (1983-85, 1988-90, 1993-95 and 1998-2000) periods stratified, where available, by age, gender, treatment modality and cause of end stage renal disease (diabetic versus non-diabetic). General population age and health indicators and national-levelmacroeconomic data were collected from secondary data sources. National experts provided primary data on renal service funding, resources andorganization. The median (inter quartile range) RRT incidence per million of the population (pmp) was 130 pmp (102-167 pmp). The general population lifeexpectancy at 60 was 22.1 years (19.7-23.1 years) and 6.9% had diabetes mellitus (5.4-9.0%). Healthcare spending as a percentage of gross domestic product was 8.1% (5.6-9.3%). Countries averaged nine dialysis facilities pmp (4-12 pmp), with 69.0% (43.9-99.0%) owned by the public or private not-for-profit sector. The number of nephrologists ranged from 0.5 to 48 pmp (median 12 pmp). The heterogeneity of EVEREST countries will enable modelling to examine the independent association between medical and non-medical factorson RRT epidemiology.
F.01 Acquisition of new practical knowledge, information and skills
COBISS.SI-ID: 28726489