Researchers at Lawson Health Research Institute at London Health Sciences Centre have discovered that developing countries have faster growing rates of home-based peritoneal dialysis for kidney failure than the developed world. This is noteworthy since peritoneal dialysis is more cost effective than hospital-based hemodialysis. Records from 1997 to 2008 in 130 countries were analyzed and results revealed that 59% of peritoneal patients were treated in developing countries as opposed to 41% in developed countries. Throughout the 12 years of the study, peritoneal dialysis patients in developing countries increased by 24.9 patients per million populations versus 21.8 per million populations in developed countries. Despite this increase, the overall proportion of all dialysis patients treated with peritoneal dialysis in developed countries has actually declined by 5.3%, while developing countries have seen no change. The researchers believe that these findings may impact future business and research innovations.
