Epidemiology of hemodialysis patients in Aleppo city.

To determine the characteristics of the hemodialysis (HD) patients in Aleppo city, we surveyed the hospitals representing the main dialysis centers in the city including private and community facilities during 2006. Personal patients' interviews and hospitals records were the source of data. The total number of patients in 2006 undergoing HD was 550 patients; 280 (50.9%) were males, and the age ranged from 5-82 years with mean and median age 44.7 and 45 years, respectively. The incidence (IR) and prevalence rate (PR) for hemodialysis were 60 pmp and 226 pmp, respectively. The major primary renal diseases in the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients included hypertension (HTN), glomerulonephritis (GN), and diabetes mellitus (DM), 21.1%, 20.5 %, and 19.45, respectively. The percent of Anti-HCV, HBV hepatitis and HBV vaccine were 54.4%, 7.8%, and 52.9%, respectively. This study suggests that the IR of hemodialysis was relatively low due to the high cost of treatment, and the PR for hemodialysis was also relatively low may be due to high mortality rate and low kidney transplantation rate in this country. There was an equal percentage of both genders in the hemodialysis population.