We keep some back issues on this site and have a list of available releases. Eighty-seven percent of the patients studied from freestanding centers were exposed to dialyzer reuse.
Some equipment is cleaned with formaldehyde.
In 1987, the number jumped to 35 percent. Fifty-nine percent of the facilities reprocessing dialyzers used formaldehyde in 1986 and 61 percent did so in 1987. They say no significant difference in survival was detected between patients treated in freestanding facilities reprocessing dialyzers with formaldehyde and patients treated in freestanding facilities not reprocessing dialyzers. The authors explain there has been inconsistent information regarding the influence of dialyzer reuse on survival of ESRD patients. They cite a variety of factors unrelated to cleaning agents that may have contributed to decreased survival.