Quality of life for patient groups

Abstract

Along with survival and other types of clinical outcome, patients' quality of life is an important indicator of the effectiveness of the medical care that they receive. Quality of life in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is influenced by the disease itself and by the type of renal replacement therapy. Numerous studies have enabled the identification of the effects of factors such as anemia, age, comorbidity, depression, etc. on quality of life. It is possible to counteract many of these effects, and the earlier this is done, the more effective the results will be. Among replacement therapies, transplantation appears to be the one that gives the best quality of life results for very large groups of patients. In the case of elderly patients or patients with a high degree of comorbidity, the best treatment option should be assessed in each individual case, taking all the possible factors into account. © 2000 by the International Society of Nephrology.