Change of Hospitalization Status Among Patients With End-Stage Kidney Disease Before and After Receiving Chronic Hemodialysis

Abstract

\n Background:Compared with other diseases, end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) carries a greater risk of comorbidities including diabetes and anemia and has a higher hospital admission rate. The cause of hospital admission appears to be a common factor affecting the prognosis of patients with ESKD. Therefore, this study conducted a retrospective cohort analysis on all patients diagnosed with ESKD and receiving hemodialysis, investigating whether the type of their diagnosis for hospital admission changed before and after they started hemodialysis.Methods:This study recruited 592 patients with ESKD who received hemodialysis at any period between January 2005 and November 2017 and had been assigned the International Classification of Diseases Ninth Revision Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) code for ESKD. The patients’ demographic data and hospitalization status one year before and two years after they received hemodialysis were analyzed. A McNemar test was conducted to analyze the diagnostic changes from before to after hemodialysis in patients with ESKD.Results:The study’s sample of patients with ESKD comprised more women (51.86%) than men and had an average age of 67.15 years. The numbers of patients admitted to hospital for the following conditions all decreased significantly after they received hemodialysis: type 2 (non-insulin-dependent and adult-onset) diabetes; native atherosclerosis; urinary tract infection; gastric ulcer without mention of hemorrhage, perforation, or obstruction; pneumonia; reflux esophagitis; duodenal ulcer without mention of hemorrhage, perforation, or obstruction; and bacteremia. Most patients exhibited one or more of the following comorbidities: diabetes (n = 407, 68.75%), hypertension (n = 491, 82.94%), congestive heart failure (n = 161, 27.20%), ischemic heart disease (n = 125, 21.11%), cerebrovascular accident (n = 93, 15.71%), and gout (n = 96, 16.22%). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that changes in the ICD-9-CM codes for native atherosclerosis, urinary tract infection, pneumonia, and hyperkalemia were associated with age. Patients who developed pneumonia before or after they received hemodialysis tended to be older (range: 69–70 years old). Conclusions:This study investigated the causes of hospital admission among patients with ESKD one year before and two years after they received hemodialysis. This study results revealed hypertension to be the most common comorbidity. Regarding cause of admission, pneumonia was more prevalent in older than in younger patients. Moreover, changes in the ICD-9-CM codes of native atherosclerosis, urinary tract infection, pneumonia, and hyperkalemia were significantly correlated with age. Therefore, when administering comprehensive nursing care and treatment for ESKD, clinicians should not focus only on comorbidities but also consider factors (e.g., age) that can affect patient prognosis.