Hospitalization patterns in HD patients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A comprehensive cohort study

Introduction The rate of hospitalization represents a morbidity indicator in HD patients. The study aimed to evaluate hospitalization patterns in a large HD cohort. Methods All DaVita‐KSA HD patients from October 2014 to December 2019 were included. Demographical and clinical characteristics and hospitalization data were recorded. Less than 24 h admission was excluded. Overall and cause‐specific hospitalization rates were calculated. Results During the follow‐up period, 3982 patients with a mean age of 52.5 ± 16.8 years, 2667 hospitalizations were recorded in 34.1% of the patients and 45.6% had repeated admissions. Infectious causes accounted for 26.6% of all recorded causes vs. 15.6% for cardiovascular complications. The median hospital stay length was 11 days, while the overall annual hospitalization rate of 34.9% and the annual duration of 3.7 days per patient. Hospitalized patients had a higher risk of mortality (p