Abstract: Objective  To investigate the effect of incremental hemodialysis on dialysis adequacy and patient prognosis through meta-analysis.  Methods  A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang database (WanFang), and VIP database (VIP). Meta-analysis was undertaken using the software Review Manager version 5.4.  Results  Six articles were finally included according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. There were no statistical differences in dialysis adequacy (MD=-0.19, 95% C1：-0.62～0.24, Z=0.88, P=0.38) and mortality rate (MD=0.48, 95% C1： 0.06～4.24, Z=0.65, P=0.51) between conventional hemodialysis and incremental hemodialysis. Conclusions  Incremental hemodialysis had no influences on dialysis adequacy and mortality, as compared with those of conventional hemodialysis. Therefore, incremental hemodialysis is an ideal mode of hemodialysis for patients with residual renal function.

Key words: Incremental dialysis, Hemodialysis, Dialysis adequacy, Mortality