Observational studyJornal brasileiro de nefrologia
Green nephrology: water and waste - one year in a hemodialysis unit in Northeastern Brazil and reassessment of dialyzer reprocessing from an environmental perspective.
Observational study in Jornal brasileiro de nefrologia. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionHemodialysis is one of the most water-intensive and waste-generating therapies in health care, yet its environmental impact remains poorly documented in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to estimate water consumption and solid waste generation in a hemodialysis unit in northeastern Brazil that reprocesses dialyzers, comparing the observed scenario with an estimated counterfactual single-use scenario.
methodsThis was a single-center, retrospective observational study. Aggregate institutional data on water consumption, supply procurement, and waste mass were analyzed over a 12-month period. An estimated counterfactual single-use scenario was constructed using mathematical projections, assuming one new dialyzer per session. Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq) emissions were estimated using an emission factor for the incineration of clinical waste.
resultsA total of 34,759 hemodialysis sessions were performed, with a mean of 223 patients/month. Total water consumption was 14.9 million liters, corresponding to 429 L/session (2.3% attributed to reprocessing). Solid waste generation was 30.9 t (0.89 kg/session), consisting of 21.6% contaminated waste, 51.5% solution containers/bottles, and 26.8% cardboard. Of all plastic waste, 70.4% was recycled and 29.6% was incinerated. In the counterfactual single-use scenario, waste generation was estimated to increase by 78.7%, incinerated plastics by 312%, and associated emissions by an additional 37.5 t of CO2-eq.
conclusionThe comparison of the two scenarios suggests that dialyzer reprocessing had a marginal effect on water consumption and reduced waste generation and associated emissions. These comparisons should be interpreted as environmental estimates; they do not allow causal inferences or universal recommendations.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.