The primary results of the Time to Reduce Mortality in End-Stage Renal Disease (TiME) trial, an NIH Collaboratory Trial, were published online this month in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. The study confirmed the feasibility of embedding a large pragmatic clinical trial in clinical care delivery.

Although maintenance hemodialysis has long been a staple of care for patients with end-stage renal disease, there are limited data from clinical trials to inform optimal approaches, including the optimal duration of hemodialysis sessions. The TiME trial investigators, in partnership with 2 large dialysis provider organizations, evaluated the effects of a longer hemodialysis session duration on mortality and hospitalization rate among more than 7000 patients receiving care in 266 dialysis facilities.

The TiME trial was discontinued early (median follow-up, 1.1 years) because there was an insufficient difference in mean hemodialysis session duration between the intervention group and the usual care group. The investigators observed no reduction in mortality or hospitalization rate in either group.

Despite ending early, the trial met important objectives for informing the implementation of large pragmatic clinical trials embedded in health care systems. In a large multicenter study with no onsite research personnel, the investigators quickly and efficiently enrolled a large number of participants using an opt-out consent approach. The study data were obtained entirely from the electronic health and administrative records of the partnering dialysis provider organizations and were generated from routine clinical care delivery.

“The TiME trial provides an important foundation for future pragmatic trials in dialysis as well as in other settings,” said Dr. Laura M. Dember of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, the principal investigator of the TiME trial.

The TiME trial was supported within the NIH Collaboratory by a cooperative agreement from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and received logistical and technical support from the NIH Collaboratory Coordinating Center. Download a study snapshot about the TiME trial, and learn more about the NIH Collaboratory Trials.