Table 1.
Baseline (first calendar quarter) data of 40,787 MHD patients, including 33,024 patients from the first quarter (Jul–Aug–Sep 2001) and 7,763 patients from the subsequent quarter (Oct–Nov–Dec 2001)a
| Variable a | Platelet count <300,000/μl n= 34,573 | Platelet count ≥300,000/μl n=6,214 |
|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 61±15 | 59±15 |
| Sex (% women) | 45 | 53 |
| Diabetes mellitus (%) | 45 | 52 |
| Race/ethnicity (%):* | ||
| Non-Hispanic Whites | 35 | 35 |
| Blacks | 34 | 37 |
| Hispanics | 16 | 14 |
| Vintage (time on dialysis,%):* | ||
| <6 months | 11 | 15 |
| >=5 years | 21 | 17 |
| Primary insurance (%):* | ||
| Medicare | 68 | 65 |
| Medicaid | 5 | 7 |
| Marital Status (%):* | ||
| Married | 43 | 40 |
| Single | 24 | 26 |
| Kt/V (dialysis dose) | 1.3 | 1.2 |
| Comorbidity (%):* | ||
| Heart Failure c | 27 | 26 |
| PVD b | 11 | 12 |
| Ischemic Heart Disease b | 18 | 17 |
| Myocardial Infarct c | 6 | 6 |
| Protein Catabolic Rate (g/kg/day) | 1.00±0.24 | 0.96±0.24 |
| Laboratory tests: | ||
| Serum albumin (g/dL) | 3.8±0.4 | 3.6±0.5 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 9.5±3.3 | 8.8±3.2 |
| TIBC (mg/dL) c | 202±41 | 201±49 |
| bicarbonate (mg/dL) c | 22.0±2.7 | 22.0±2.8 |
| phosphorus (mg/dL) b | 5.7±1.5 | 5.7±1.6 |
| calcium (mg/dL) | 9.2±0.8 | 9.2±0.8 |
| ferritin (ng/mL) ¶ | 580±310 | 498±342 |
| iron saturation ratio | 30±13 | 24±12 |
| Blood hemoglobin (g/dL) | 11.9±1.2 | 11.2±1.4 |
| Platelet count (×103/υl) | 205±51 | 363±67 |
| WBC (×103/υl) | 7.0±2.1 | 9.1±2.9 |
| lymphocyte (% of total WBC) | 21±8 | 19±8 |
| rHuEPO dose (units/week) ¶ | 13,418±8,518 | 17,795±10,987 |
| Use of any IV iron (%) | 60 | 61 |
a
P-value <0.001 for the difference between the two groups, unless otherwise specified:
b
0.01 ≤ p < 0.05
c
p≥0.05
*
Categorical variables with more than two strata have a global statistical test across all categories (p<0.001).
¶
Count data are in percentage, and continuous values are in mean±SD if normally distributed or median (IQR/2) if skewed.