5-YEAR CUMULATIVE COST OF DIALYSIS DEPENDENCE¹⁹

The objective of this study was to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis comparing IRRT with CRRT as initial therapy for AKI in the ICU. 1,000 IRRT patients and 1,000 CRRT patients were studied. The 5-year total cost, including the cost of dialysis dependence, was lower for CRRT ($37,780 for CRRT versus $39,448 for IRRT on average). The base-case incremental cost-effectiveness analysis showed that CRRT dominated IRRT. This dominance was confirmed by extensive sensitivity analysis. Initial CRRT is cost effective compared with initial IRRT by reducing the rate of long-term dialysis dependence among critically ill AKI survivors.