THIS 1998 Annual Data Report (ADR) of the USRDS is the 10th Anniversary Edition of a series of reports that started in 1989. This ADR provides a comprehensive review of many of the issues that are important to the care of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), including recent trends in the incidence and prevalence of treated ESRD, methods of treatment, and patient outcomes. Examples of outcomes include patient survival, hospitalization, kidney graft survival, and cost. Separate chapters have been devoted to issues unique to cost of ESRD therapy, renal transplantation, characteristics of facilities providing dialysis, and international comparisons of incidence and treatment patterns.