Comparison of Different Hemodialysis Frequencies per Week on Adequacy Parameters Including Electrolytes in Patients on Chronic Hemodialysis

Introduction: Due to the limitations in finding the right donor, the majority of patients with renal failure (chronic kidney disease stage 5) are treated with hemodialysis. In literature, we have extensive evidence of different hemodialysis prescriptions based on different frequencies per week and duration of each session. We tried to assess the impact of different hemodialysis frequencies on the adequacy of dialysis based on nutritional parameters, electrolyte imbalances and quality of life (QoL) parameters. Material and Methods: It was a single center, prospective, observational study conducted over three consecutive months on patients on hemodialysis and their biochemical, and QoL parameters were recorded. We could enroll 29 patients for this study. The objective was to assess the effect of different hemodialysis frequencies per week on hemodialysis adequacy parameters and QoL indices. Results: The baseline characteristics were uniform with respect to age (p=0.761) and commonly associated co-morbidities like obesity (BMI p=0.971), hypertension (p=0.927), diabetes mellitus (p=0.822). The serum albumin was observed to be similar in patients receiving either thrice weekly or twice weekly hemodialysis (p=0.736). The URR and kt/v were marginally higher in patients receiving thrice weekly dialysis but with no statistical significance (p=0.938 for URR & p=0.615 for kt/v). Discussion and Conclusions: The biochemical indices of nutrition along with electrolyte imbalance and quality of life parameters observed with different frequencies of hemodialysis per week were identical over three consecutive months.