A Clinical Trial of IntensiVE Dialysis

A rapidly increasing volume of observational data suggests substantial benefits may be associated with an increased duration of dialysis. As well as improved quality of life, improved functioning and beneficial changes in a variety of laboratory parameters, it has been suggested that extended dialysis sessions might reduce mortality and major morbidity. Uncontrolled data from centres that have been providing extended dialysis shows dramatically lower mortality rates compared to those observed in centres providing standard duration dialysis. Recent analyses of extended dialysis conclude that the savings achieved in drug and hospitalization costs may lead to an overall reduction in costs compared with traditional forms of dialysis. In this trial, we propose to examine the effects of extended dialysis (24 hours weekly or more) compared to standard dialysis (18 hours or less weekly) in patients with ESKD. The proposed study is a multi-centre, open label, randomised, controlled trial. The study began with a pilot phase which was converted to the current main study on the receipt of peer-reviewed funding for the full study.