Twice vs Thrice Weekly Hemodialysis: Clinical Outcomes and Quality of Life

September 10, 2026 updated by: Justin George Shawky Youssef, Assiut University

Clinical Outcomes and Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients Receiving Twice- Versus Thrice-Weekly Maintenance Hemodialysis: A Prospective Comparative Study

This prospective cohort study aims to compare clinical outcomes and health-related quality of life between adults receiving established twice-weekly versus thrice-weekly maintenance hemodialysis at Assiut University Hospitals.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

Thrice-weekly maintenance hemodialysis is the conventional schedule. Twice-weekly hemodialysis is used selectively in patients with residual kidney function. Local prospective comparative data in Egypt are limited.

This observational study will include adults with end-stage kidney disease receiving established twice-weekly or thrice-weekly in-center maintenance hemodialysis. Patients will be followed according to their prescribed schedule without research-driven changes. Health-related quality of life will be assessed using the Arabic KDQOL-36 at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Clinical outcomes including adequacy, residual kidney function, hospitalization, and mortality will be recorded.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

130

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adults with end-stage kidney disease receiving maintenance in-center hemodialysis at Assiut University Hospitals.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • - Age 18 years or older
  • Established end-stage kidney disease requiring maintenance hemodialysis
  • Receiving in-center maintenance hemodialysis at Assiut University Hospitals
  • On maintenance hemodialysis for at least one month before enrollment
  • Established twice-weekly or thrice-weekly schedule prescribed by the treating team
  • Clinically stable at recruitment
  • Able to understand and respond to the questionnaire
  • Written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • - Acute kidney injury without established end-stage kidney disease
  • Hemodialysis for less than one month
  • Peritoneal dialysis or kidney transplantation during follow-up
  • Acute severe illness requiring intensive care at recruitment
  • Severe cognitive, psychiatric or neurological impairment preventing reliable questionnaire responses
  • Active malignancy with expected survival too short to complete follow-up
  • Temporary dialysis solely for an acute indication
  • Refusal to participate
  • Permanent transfer to another dialysis center during follow-up

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Twice-weekly hemodialysis
Adults receiving established twice-weekly maintenance hemodialysis.
Thrice-weekly hemodialysis
Adults receiving established thrice-weekly maintenance hemodialysis.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Health-related quality of life score
Time Frame: At baseline, 3 months, and 6 months
Mean total score of the Arabic Kidney Disease Quality of Life-36 (KDQOL-36) questionnaire.
At baseline, 3 months, and 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Dialysis adequacy
Time Frame: Up to 6 months
Mean single-pool Kt/V (for thrice-weekly) or weekly Kt/V incorporating residual kidney clearance (for twice-weekly).
Up to 6 months
Residual urine output
Time Frame: Up to 6 months
Mean daily urine volume (mL/day) in patients with residual kidney function.
Up to 6 months
Hospitalization rate
Time Frame: Up to 6 months
Proportion of patients requiring hospital admission during follow-up.
Up to 6 months
Interdialytic weight gain
Time Frame: Up to 6 months
Mean interdialytic weight gain (kg).
Up to 6 months
Mortality
Time Frame: Up to 6 months
Proportion of patients who die during the follow-up period.
Up to 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Assiut University

Investigators

  • Study Chair: marwa k abdo, prof, Internal Medicine Department, Assiut University Hospitals

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

September 10, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 10, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 10, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 10, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 10, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 16, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 16, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 10, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • HD-Frequency-QoL-Assiut-2026

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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