Dialysis 3 times week might not be enough,

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By ALICIA CHANG
updated 9/22/2011 2:54:15 PM ET 2011-09-22T18:54:15

LOS ANGELES — A major study challenges the way diabetics and others with failing kidneys have been treated for half a century, finding that three-times-a-week dialysis to cleanse the blood of toxins may not be enough.

Deaths, heart attacks and hospitalizations were much higher on the day after the two-day interval between treatments each week than at other times, the federally funded study found.

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Researchers found a 22 percent higher risk of death on the day after a long break compared with other days of the week. Put another way: For every 100 people on dialysis for a year, 22 would die on the day after the long interval versus 18 on other days.

Hospital admissions for stroke and heart-related problems more than doubled on the day after a long break than on other days — 44 versus 20 for every 100 people treated.

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Medicare covers the cost of dialysis, regardless of age, spending about $77,000 annually per person. It covers thrice-weekly treatment, but people can get a fourth session if needed.

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This year, Medicare started giving clinics a financial incentive to teach patients to do dialysis at home, allowing them to cleanse their blood more often. But this option is not for everyone. It requires intense training and patients need a helper at home.

Unless rules change, Wake Forest's Bleyer said people can take simple steps to reduce their risk by not drinking too much fluid between long dialysis breaks and eating a healthy diet.

"Patients must be a little more careful on the weekend than on other days of the week," he said.

Carol Thomas, who has been on dialysis since 2007, watches her water intake especially on weekends and avoids dairy, beans and nuts, which are high in certain nutrients that can cause complications.

Thomas, of Sacramento, Calif., said home dialysis is not an option because she doesn't have someone to help her.

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