Nocturnal Hemodialysis: Promising or Proven?

July 07, 2010
Nocturnal Hemodialysis: Promising or Proven?
By Peter Laird, MD

I continue to marvel at the dialysis medical literature that in many instances completely ignores the history of dialysis. This is especially true when it comes to the subject of "alternative" dialysis strategies, such as daily dialysis or nocturnal dialysis. It is sad indeed when the pioneers of such life saving modalities are not even remembered.

Dr. Stanley Shaldon has been overlooked for years as the original investigator of home nocturnal hemodialysis. He not only initiated the first overnight or nocturnal home dialysis treatments, but also published his results extensively in the early 1960's. We've all had access to his results for nearly fifty years!

Dr. Shaldon has reminded readers of his early work through letters to the editor in Kidney International and Blood Purification, Origin of Nocturnal Home Haemodialysis:

Dear Sir,

Precedent claims are rarely correct, thus the statement by Drs Schlapper and Diaz-Buxo in the January issue of Blood and Purification [1], that Uldall et al. [2] established the first nightly home haemodialysis program in 1993, cannot go unchallenged. I believe that my group was the first to develop this technique 30 years earlier and that we published extensively in the period of 1963-1968 on this subject [3-7]. In addition, visual proof of my claim can be seen in a video of self unattended overnight home haemodialysis in 1968 by any of your readers at http://www.youtube.com/user/stanleyshaldon [8].

(Ed: I have updated Dr Shaldon's video link with his YouTube page URL.)

I recently read with interest another article that speaks of the promise of nocturnal dialysis, yet why is it referred to as a promising therapy nearly fifty years after its first use?

http://www.billpeckham.com/from_the_sharp_end_of_the/2010/07/nocturnal-hemodialysis-promising-or-proven.html