Predictors of treatment with dialysis modalities in observational studies for comparative effectiveness research.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The Institute of Medicine has identified the comparative effectiveness of renal replacement therapies as a kidney-related topic among the top 100 national priorities. Given the importance of ensuring internal and external validity, the goal of this study was to identify potential sources of bias in observational studies that compare outcomes with different dialysis modalities.

Methods

This observational cohort study used data from the electronic medical records of all patients that started maintenance dialysis in the calendar years 2007-2011 and underwent treatment for at least 60 days in any of the 2217 facilities operated by DaVita Inc. Each patient was assigned one of six dialysis modalities for each 91-day period from the date of first dialysis (thrice weekly

SUBMITTER: Kuttykrishnan S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4560036 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature