Novel haemodialysis treatment employing molecular hydrogen-enriched dialysis solution improves prognosis of chronic dialysis patients: a prospective observational study
Nakayama M et al. · Sci Rep. 2018;8:254.
Study at a glance
Human
Adults receiving chronic maintenance hemodialysis
Hemodialysis with 30–80 ppb H₂-enriched dialysate, three sessions per week for 4–5 hours · 30–80 ppb dissolved H₂; approximately 1.2 mmol H₂ estimated to enter the patient during a 4-hour session at 50 ppb.
Mean observation 3.28 years; dialysis three times weekly
There were 91 composite events: 41 with H₂-enriched dialysis and 50 with conventional dialysis. The adjusted hazard ratio was 0.59 (95% CI 0.38–0.92), while the unadjusted association was not statistically significant.
Treatment was selected by physicians rather than randomized, the H₂ group was younger, and residual confounding is likely. The favorable estimate appeared after multivariable adjustment. Nihon Trim, manufacturer of the electrolysis system, funded the study; authors declared no competing interests.
What kind of evidence is this?
Human
Non-randomized, non-blinded prospective multicenter observational comparison
Kidney and urinary health
Other forms
Information not yet classified
Some editorial classification fields are still pending. The source-reported outcomes and result are shown below; Hydrogenology does not infer a positive or negative signal from prose automatically.
Methods
Adults receiving chronic maintenance hemodialysis
309 patients: H₂-enriched dialysis n=161; conventional dialysis n=148
Mean observation 3.28 years; dialysis three times weekly
Hemodialysis with 30–80 ppb H₂-enriched dialysate, three sessions per week for 4–5 hours
H₂ dissolved in dialysis solution — H₂ only, not Brown’s gas and not inhalation.
30–80 ppb dissolved H₂; approximately 1.2 mmol H₂ estimated to enter the patient during a 4-hour session at 50 ppb.
Conventional hemodialysis with dialysate H₂ below 1 ppb
Outcomes and reported result
Composite of all-cause mortality and non-fatal cardio-cerebrovascular events; blood pressure, medications, dialysis parameters, fatigue and pruritus
There were 91 composite events: 41 with H₂-enriched dialysis and 50 with conventional dialysis. The adjusted hazard ratio was 0.59 (95% CI 0.38–0.92), while the unadjusted association was not statistically significant.
Methods, results, registration, funding and conflicts checked in the open-access full text; independent appraisal remains incomplete.
A reported association, difference or mechanism is not automatically a clinical benefit.
Limitations and applicability
Treatment was selected by physicians rather than randomized, the H₂ group was younger, and residual confounding is likely. The favorable estimate appeared after multivariable adjustment. Nihon Trim, manufacturer of the electrolysis system, funded the study; authors declared no competing interests.
Chronic hemodialysis patients in Japanese centers using this specific H₂-enriched dialysate system.
No single-study GRADE certainty rating is assigned. Read how records and evidence assessments are prepared.
Sources and record status
PMID: 29321509 · DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18537-x
Open-access full text is available through PMC and the publisher.
Open-access PMC and publisher full texts plus PubMed record.
10 August 2026
Help people check the facts before they buy.
Hydrogenology keeps 665 source-checked records accessible without advertising or product promotion.
Help us correct the recordReport a discrepancy
Send the exact difference between this page and the linked source. The study reference is attached automatically.