Patient mortality in chronic dialysis: comparisons between hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis

Patients with approaching end-stage renal disease often must choose between hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis as the initial form of renal replacement therapy. Should nephrologists recommend one form of dialysis as superior to the other? This review focuses on studies that compared patient mortality for these two dialysis techniques. Explanations for the disparate findings of these studies will be put forth. Finally, suggestions regarding what we can recommend to patients are made.