LAWRENCE, Mass.—The latest NxStage FREEDOM data showed that patients using the System One machine for home hemodialysis for 12 months have an increase in quality of life, improvements in overall sleep quality, and an improvement in restless leg syndrome.
The study results were presented during the Annual Dialysis Conference in Phoenix. The ongoing FREEDOM study is the largest study of its kind to measure the clinical and economic benefits of daily home hemodialysis treatment, as compared to conventional, thrice-weekly in-center hemodialysis treatment for patients requiring dialysis therapy.
"These latest 12-month results are extremely encouraging. The analysis shows the quality of life benefits eligible patients experience at month four continue and sometimes strengthen by month 12. These benefits are dramatic and can be truly life-changing," said Dr. Frederic Finkelstein, MD, chief of nephrology at the Hospital of St. Raphael in New Haven, Conn. and clinical professor of medicine at Yale University Medical School as well as an investigator on the FREEDOM study. "These improvements in mental and physical scores suggest that daily hemodialysis leads to an overall healthier and happier patient."
The interim analysis of the FREEDOM study shows that daily home hemodialysis is associated with clear improvements in quality of life benefits sustained throughout a 12-month period, as measured by the SF-36v2 Health Survey. Results showed a significant improvement in both mental health scores (Mental Component Summary) and physical health scores (Physical Component Summary) from baseline to month 12. (MCS: P=0.01; PCS<0.0001).
