[Patients with neoplastic disease or older than 80 years of age: dialysis survival]. / Pazienti con patologia neoplastica o di età superiore ad 80 anni: destino dialitico.

In several European countries, including Italy, the resident population is ageing. This process is at the basis of the progressive increase in incidence of new elderly patients starting dialysis and, to a lesser degree, of patients affected by severe comorbid conditions, such a neoplasia. The aim of the study was an analysis of the situation in Piedmont (Northern Italy, 4,400,000 inhabitants): out of 4483 new entries in 1981-1993, 192 were aged 80 years and 87 were affected by renal neoplasia or by multiple myeloma. Incidence of patients aged 80 increased throughout the period; use of high tolerance techniques increased in the meantime allowing an improvement in survival results. The high incidence of vasculopathic patients and the high rates of death from cachexia pinpoint how much still has to be done in the field of prevention, even before dialysis starts.

[Choice of dialysis methods as initial substitutive treatment: trends in the last 10 years]. / Scelta di metodiche dialitiche quale primo trattamento sostitutivo: evoluzione negli ultimi dieci anni.

The authors report data from the Regional Piedmontese Registry about the evolution of choices concerning dialytic therapy in the 20 regional dialysis Units during the years 1981-1990. They confirm a scale-down of acetate dialysis that is replaced with bicarbonate dialysis; besides a limited use of convective dialysis whereas peritoneal dialysis is steady. At the same time they remark an increase in admittance to dialysis and older patients.