Research in brief: Time on treatment

Benjamin Hippen, MD, FASN, FAST, of our Global Medical Office discusses the significant relationship between delivered treatment time for in-center hemodialysis patients and improved survival, lower hospitalization rates, and shortened hospital lengths of stay.

At Fresenius Medical Care, we’re always looking for ways to improve clinical outcomes for people on dialysis and help them live healthier lives. In a recent study, we found that increasing delivered treatment time may be one way to achieve these goals. 

In this retrospective study, entitled “Delivered Treatment Time and Hospitalization Rates Among 141,397 Patients on In-Center Hemodialysis,” we examined the relationship between delivered treatment time and patient survival, hospitalization rates, and hospital lengths of stay in a post-COVID cohort of patients.

Researchers at the Renal Research Institute (RRI) analyzed patient data from January 2022 to July 2023 and followed these patients for up to one year. What they found was encouraging: longer dialysis sessions were linked to better survival rates, fewer hospital visits, and shorter hospital stays.