Can Dialysis Modality Influence Quality of Life in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients? Low-Flux Hemodialysis versus High-Flux Hemodiafiltration: A Cross-Over Study

Figures & data

Figure 1.  Study design.

Table 1.  Baseline demographic characteristics of patients.

Baseline demographic characteristics	Group A	Group B	p-Value
Age (years)	61.79 ± 13.94	62.14 ± 1.33	1.00
Duration of dialysis (months)	2.53 ± 1.71	3.67 ± 2.78	0.378
Gender M/F	10/2	9/3	0.615
Diabetes mellitus Y/N	0/12	1/11	0.307

Note: Bold p-values are considered to be statistically significant, p < 0.05.

Table 2.  Comparison of clinical data in patients receiving diffusive (HD) versus convective (OHDF + HDF) dialysis therapies.

Parameters	HD (n = 48)	OHDF + HDF (n = 48)	p-Value
Kt/V	1.42 ± 0.17	1.45 ± 0.16	0.33
Hypotension n/session	3.96 ± 4.68	4.02 ± 4.89	0.91
Hemoglobin (g/dL)	12.13 ± 0.82	12.19 ± 0.71	0.62
EPO (IU/week)	6659.7 ± 4054.3	6493.3 ± 4081.8	0.74
Ca (mg/dL)	9.29 ± 0.58	9.35 ± 0.52	0.48
P (mg/dL)	6.01 ± 1.27	5.42 ± 1.19	0.02
Ferritin (μg/L)	361.2 ± 264.56	408.4 ± 447.79	0.89
CRP (mg/dL)	0.86 ± 0.91	0.84 ± 0.94	0.83
Albumin (g/dL)	4.20 ± 0.28	4.20 ± 0.33	0.72
PTH (pg/mL)	297.88 ± 282.4	294.34 ± 280.69	0.99
β2 Microglobulin (mg/dL)	47.36 ± 12.21	31.87 ± 7.64	<0.01

Notes: Bold p-values are considered to be statistically significant, p < 0.05. CRP, C-reactive protein; PTH, parathyroid hormone.

Table 3.  Comparison of clinical data in patients receiving convective dialysis therapies, OHDF versus HDF.

Parameters	OHDF (n = 24)	HDF (n = 24)	p-Value
Kt/V	1.45 ± 0.16	1.45 ± 0.15	0.89
Hypotension n/session	5.21 ± 6.17	2.83 ± 2.81	0.43
Hemoglobin (g/dL)	12.36 ± 0.66	12.01 ± 0.74	0.13
EPO (IU/week)	6527.8 ± 4175.9	6458.9 ± 4075.1	0.97
Ca (mg/dL)	9.32 ± 0.59	9.37 ± 45	0.67
P (mg/dL)	5.49 ± 1.23	5.36 ± 1.11	0.75
Ferritin (μg/L)	444.9 ± 590.2	371.9 ± 242.1	0.59
CRP (mg/dL)	0.72 ± 0.74	0.96 ± 1.11	0.47
Albumin (g/dL)	4.23 ± 0.18	4.17 ± 0.27	0.67
PTH (pg/mL)	316.07 ± 299.66	273.61 ± 266.70	0.73
β2 Microglobulin (mg/dL)	32.66 ± 7.71	31.08 ± 7.66	0.635

Notes: Bold p-values are considered to be statistically significant, p < 0.05. CRP, C-reactive protein; PTH, parathyroid hormone.

Table 4.  Comparison of QoL scores in patients receiving diffusive (HD) versus convective (OHDF + HDF) dialysis therapies.

SF-36	HD^a (n = 44)	HDF–OHDF^a (n = 44)	p-Value
SF-36 total	36.1 (26.7–45.7)	40.7 (30.2–62.8)	0.029
Physical functioning (PF) (10)	45 (21.3–55)	45 (25–65)	0.355
Role limitations—physical RP (4)	0 (0–25)	0 (0–43.7)	0.344
Bodily pain (BP) (2)	45 (26.9–66.9)	55 (35.6–87.5)	0.025
General health (5)	27.5 (25–43.75)	30 (25–55)	0.146
Emotional well-being (5)	52 (32–67)	56 (36–72)	0.320
Role limitations—emotional (3)	0 (0–33.3)	33.3 (0–100)	0.019
Social function (2)	50 (15.6–62.5)	50 (28.1–75)	0.116
Energy/fatigue (4)	40 (25–53.7)	42.5 (30–60)	0.147
SF-12 Physical Health Composite	31.6 (25.6–34.9)	34.8 (27.3–39.8)	0.048
SF-12 Mental Composite	39.5 (31.4–44.1)	41.9 (32.1–53.5)	0.087

Notes: Bold p-values are considered to be statistically significant, p < 0.05.

^aData are reported as median (IQR).

Table 5.  Comparison of QoL scores in patients receiving convective dialysis therapies, OHDF versus HDF.

SF-36	OHDF^a (n = 22)	HDF^a (n = 22)	p-Value
SF-36 total	36.6 (24.6–61.7)	43.2 (32.3–65.2)	0.573
Physical functioning (PF) (10)	45 (22.5–61.2)	47.5 (25–65)	0.742
Role limitations—physical RP (4)	0 (0–31.2)	0 (0–50)	0.924
Bodily pain (BP) (2)	50 (30.6–85)	60 (45–88.1)	0.442
General health (5)	30 (25–55)	32.5 (25–55)	0.953
Emotional well-being (5)	54 (32–72)	60 (36–72)	0.769
Role limitations—emotional (3)	33.3 (0–100)	33.3 (0–100)	0.663
Social function (2)	56.2 (25–78.1)	50 (34.4–78.1)	0.915
Energy/fatigue (4)	40 (25–56.2)	47.5 (33.7–61.2)	0.383
SF-12 Physical Health Composite	33.8 (26.8–38.7)	34.8 (29.9–40.6)	0.557
SF-12 Mental Composite	40.3 (31.6–53.8)	42.5 (32.7–53.9)	0.707

Notes: Bold p-values are considered to be statistically significant, p < 0.05.

^aData are reported as median (IQR).