Survival outcome in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis: an Egyptian study at Dakahlia Governorate

Background Several research studies aimed to explain the high mortality among hemodialysis (HD) patients. Our study aimed to describe the mortality in our Governorate (Dakahlia) and to explore its potential risk factors. Patients and methods This prospective (follow-up) study was conducted in four HD units on 120 patients who were followed up over the 12-month period (September 2018–August 2019). At enrollment and every 3 months, all patients were subjected to history taking, physical examination, and laboratory tests for the 12-month period or until the patient died. Results The 120 HD cases were 72 (60%) male patients, and 48 (40%) female patients with a median age of 46.5 years. Over 1-year follow-up, 26 (21.7%) patients died. Survival analysis with the Log-rank test shows no statistically significant difference in survival times based on examined variables (sex, diabetes, hypertension, current smoking, and Subjective Global Assessment). The results of the Cox proportional hazards model [to assess sex, age, diabetes, hypertension, current smoking, HD duration (years), and Subjective Global Assessment as predictors of 1-year mortality in HD patients] show that out of these seven predictor variables, only diabetes was a statistically significant independent predictor. Conclusion HD-related mortality is high in Dakahlia Governorate (21.7%). Diabetes mellitus is an independent risk factor for mortality with a hazard ratio of 2.97.