Katrina led to missed kidney dialysis sessions

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Nearly one in five hemodialysis patients living in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina missed more than two dialysis sessions in the storm's aftermath, doubling their risk for being hospitalized, according to a report in the journal Kidney International.

Dialysis is a procedure that people with failing kidneys must undergo regularly in order to remove toxins from the bloodstream.

The 2005 hurricane forced evacuation of over one million residents. To examine causes and consequences of missed dialysis sessions, Dr. Paul Muntner of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, and colleagues interviewed 386 patients from 9 hemodialysis units in New Orleans and surrounding parishes in mid-2006.

They found that 44 percent of those surveyed missed at least one hemodialysis treatment session during the following month, and nearly 17 percent reported missing three or more sessions; 23 percent required hospitalization.

Patients who missed three or more session were significantly more likely to be hospitalized.

"Hemodialysis patients should be reminded of the consequences of missing treatment as they prepare for future emergencies," the investigators advise.

"Having hemodialysis patients evacuate early, having a pre-defined set of alternate dialysis units with contact information, evacuating to a site other than a shelter, and being aware of their dialysis unit's evacuation plans," they add, "may prevent excess missed dialysis sessions" following a disaster.

SOURCE: Kidney International, online February 11, 2009.