Novel haemodialysis (HD) treatment employing molecular hydrogen (H)-enriched dialysis solution improves prognosis of chronic dialysis patients: A prospective observational study.

Abstract

A novel haemodialysis system (E-HD) delivering dialysis solution enriched with molecular hydrogen at 30–80 ppb via water electrolysis was evaluated in a non-randomized prospective observational study involving 309 chronic dialysis patients (E-HD: n=161; conventional HD: n=148). Over a mean follow-up of 3.28 years, the composite primary endpoint of all-cause mortality and non-lethal cardio-cerebrovascular events occurred in 41 E-HD patients versus 50 conventional HD patients. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis identified E-HD as an independent predictor of improved prognosis, with a hazard ratio of 0.59 (95% CI: 0.38–0.92) after adjustment for age, cardiovascular history, serum albumin, and C-reactive protein. Post-dialysis hypertension was also reduced in the E-HD group, accompanied by a significant decrease in antihypertensive medication use. These findings suggest that hydrogen-dissolved dialysis solution may favorably influence long-term outcomes in chronic dialysis patients.

Mechanism

Molecular hydrogen is proposed to exert anti-inflammatory effects, which may underlie the observed reductions in post-dialysis hypertension and cardio-cerebrovascular event risk in chronic haemodialysis patients.