Wong CKH, et al. - Researchers performed a cost analysis determining the direct and indirect costs of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients in the first and second years of initiating peritoneal dialysis (PD), hospital-based haemodialysis (HD) and nocturnal home HD. Analyzing 402 ESRD patients on maintenance dialysis (PD: 189; hospital-based HD: 170; and nocturnal home HD: 43) they identified that hospital-based HD had the highest total annual direct medical costs in the initial year (hospital-based HD = $400 057 ± 62 822; PD = $118 467 ± 15 559; nocturnal home HD = $223 358 ± 18 055) and second year (hospital-based HD = $360 924  ± 63 014; PD = $80 796 ± 15 820; nocturnal home HD = $87 028 ± 9059) from the perspective of the healthcare provider. Further they identified hospital-based HD to have the highest total annual costs in the initial year (hospital-based HD = $452 151  ± 73 327; PD = $189 191 ± 61 735; nocturnal home HD = $242 038 ± 28 281) and second year (hospital-based HD = $413 017 ± 73 501; PD = $151 520 ± 60 353; nocturnal home HD = $105 708 ± 23 853) from the societal perspective. These findings suggest PD as cost-saving relative to hospital-based HD and nocturnal home HD from both perspectives, except that nocturnal home HD has the lowest cost in the second year of treatment from the societal perspective.