Seasonal Differences in Home Dialysis Uptake and Initiating Dialysis in the Hospital

"We stratify patients into 4 groups based on the season of the year (between 12/1/2007-11/30/2017)~* Winter: December, January, February~* Spring: March, April, May~* Summer: June, July, August~* Fall: September, October, November"

"We further stratify patients into 3 groups based on whether they were hospitalized within 14 days prior to dialysis~* Group 1: No hospitalization prior to dialysis~* Group 2: Hospitalized within 14 days prior to dialysis for an acute infectious respiratory condition or one of the following acute cardiac conditions (arrhythmia, myocardial infarction, stroke, or fluid overload)~* Group 3: Hospitalized within 14 days prior to dialysis for a condition not in Group 2"