Renal failure: why today's patients live better and longer
Chan, R.; Michelis, M.F.
Geriatrics 51(1): 37-40; 43
1996
ISSN/ISBN: 0016-867X PMID: 8543197 Document Number: 462499
The clinical courses of two older patients with progressive renal failure associated with hypertension are described. Their underlying disorders are similar, but there are stark contrasts between medical therapies available now and 50 years ago. Such advances include the development of antihypertensive drugs and antimicrobial medications that have reduced the incidence of renal failure. In addition, recombinant erythropoietin and calcitriol have decreased the morbidity associated with chronic renal failure. Finally, technologic breakthroughs in dialysis have made a once-fatal condition eminently treatable.