RESEARCH ARTICLE c a

severe stage of chronic kidney disease (i.e. stage 5, figures for the UK show that there were 54,824 adults Liu et al. BMC Nephrology 2014, 15:161 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2369/15/161dialysis [APD]) or during the day (continuous ambulatory1Baxter Healthcare Corporation, One Baxter Parkway, Deerfield, IL, USA Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleglomerular filtration rate <15 mL/min/1.73 m2 or on dialysis) [1]. The treatment of choice for ESRD is kidney transplantation, but as this is not always feasible largely due to a shortage of suitable donor kidneys, many ESRD patients require renal replacement therapy (RRT) in the receiving RRT by the end of 2012; 50 % had a functioning transplant while 50 % were receiving dialysis [3]. In 2012, the RRT incidence rate in the UK was 108 per million population [4]. Haemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) are the two main dialysis treatment options available [5]. PD is performed at home, either overnight (automated peritonea