A long-term kidney hemodialysis patient with no residual kidney function wants to know how long she would likely survive if she stops dialysis. The best response would be to say that the average patient survives approximately:
a) about 2-3 days
b) about 5-12 days
c) about 2-3 weeks
d) about 1-2 months
Answer b.
A recent study of 1947 patients who discontinued dialysis found the mean survival was 7.4 days (range, 0-40 days). O’Connor NR1, Dougherty M, Harris PS, Casarett DJ. Survival after dialysis discontinuation and hospice enrollment for ESRD.Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 8 (12):2117-2013
Further Reading: Fast Fact #191 PROGNOSTICATION IN PATIENTS RECEIVING DIALYSIS.
See Patient information from the National Kidney Foundation: https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/dialysisstop
