Is lack of suitable housing a barrier to home-based dialysis therapy for patients with end-stage renal disease? A cohort study

Patient screening and assessment for home dialysis therapies: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Home dialysis therapies have limited uptake in most regions despite recognized benefits such as increasing patients' independence, and several domains of quality of life with cost savings in some systems.

OBJECTIVE

To perform a scoping review of published literature to identify tools and guides used in systematically screening and assessing patient suitability for home dialysis. A secondary objective was to explore barriers and enablers associated with the home dialysis assessment process. It is important to identify gaps in current research to pose pertinent questions for future work in the field.

DESIGN

Online databases Embase, Medline (Ovid), and CINAHL were used to identify articles published between January 2007 to May 2023. A total of 23 peer-reviewed primary and secondary studies that investigated screening or selection for patients > 18 years old with kidney failure for home dialysis met the study inclusion criteria.

RESULTS

The studies consisted of secondary studies (n = 10), observational studies (n = 8), and survey-based studies (n = 5). The major themes identified that influence patient screening and assessment for home dialysis candidacy included: screening tools and guidelines (n = 8), relative contraindications (n = 4), patient or program education (n = 9), and socioeconomic factors (n = 2).

LIMITATIONS

Consistent with the scoping review methodology, the methodological quality of included studies was not assessed. The possible omission of evidence in languages other than English is a limitation.

CONCLUSION

This scoping review identified tools and factors that potentially guide the assessment process for home dialysis candidacy. Patient screening and assessment for home dialysis requires a comprehensive evaluation of clinical, psychosocial, and logistical factors. Further research is required to validate and refine existing tools to establish standardized patient screening criteria and evaluation processes. Up-to-date training and education for healthcare providers and patients are needed to improve the utilization of home dialysis and ensure optimal outcomes.

Is social deprivation associated with the peritoneal dialysis outcomes? A cohort study with REIN registry data

BACKGROUND

Social deprivation is associated with lower peritoneal dialysis (PD) uptake. This study was carried out to evaluate the role of social deprivation on the outcome of PD.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study of data extracted from the Renal Epidemiology and Information Network registry for patients older than 18 years who started PD in metropolitan France between 1 January 2017 and 30 June 2018. The end of the observation period was 31 December 2020. The exposure was the European Deprivation Index calculated using the patient's address. The events of interest were death, transfer to haemodialysis (HD), transplantation and the composite event of death or transfer to HD. A Cox model and Fine and Gray model were used for the analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 1581 patients were included, of whom 418 (26.5%) belonged to Quintile 5 of the European Deprivation Index (the most deprived patients). In the Cox model, the most deprived subjects did not have a greater risk of death (cause-specific hazard ratio (cs-HR): 0.76 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.53-1.10], transfer to HD (cs-HR 1.37 [95% CI: 0.95-1.98]) or the composite event of death or transfer to HD (cs-HR: 1.08 [95% CI: 0.84-1.38]) or a lower risk of kidney transplantation (cs-HR: 0.73 [95% CI: 0.48-1.10]). In the competing risk analysis, the most deprived subjects had a higher risk of transfer to HD (subdistribution hazard ratio (sd-HR): 1.54 [95% CI: 1.08-2.19]) and lower access to kidney transplantation (sd-HR: 0.68 [0.46-0.99]).

CONCLUSION

In PD patients, social deprivation was not associated with death or the composite event of death or transfer to HD. Socially deprived individuals had a greater risk of transfer to HD and lower access to kidney transplantation in the competing risk analysis.

Appropriateness of the dialysis modality selection process: A cross-sectional study

Studies that specifically quantify the appropriateness of the process of dialysis modality selection are lacking. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) offers clinical and social advantages over hemodialysis (HD), but may be underused. We aimed to determine the appropriateness of the process of dialysis modality selection and quantify the percentage of patients who could potentially have been PD candidates. We performed a cross-sectional study that included adult patients from a hospital Nephrology Department in Barcelona who started dialysis between 2014 and 2015. We assessed the appropriateness of dialysis modalities selection by defining 3 sequential domains based on 3 critical steps in choosing a dialysis modality: eligibility for either treatment, information about modalities, and shared decision-making. We obtained data using medical records and a patient questionnaire. The dialysis modality selection process was considered appropriate when patients had no contraindications for the selected option, received complete information about both modalities, and voluntarily chose the selected option. A total of 141 patients were included in this study. The median age was 72 years (interquartile range 63-82 years), and 65% of the patients were men. The dialysis modality selection process was potentially inappropriate in 22% of the participants because of problems related to information about dialysis modalities (15%) or shared decision-making (7%). Appropriate PD use can potentially increase from 17% to 38%. Patient age and lack of information regarding dialysis options were independently associated with the potential degree of inappropriate dialysis modality selection. Our findings indicate areas for improvement in the selection of dialysis modalities. With better education and shared decision-making, the number of patients with PD could potentially double. The analysis of appropriateness is a helpful approach for studying renal replacement treatment patterns and identifying strategies to optimize their use.

Dialysis-network variability in home dialysis use not explained by patient characteristics: a national registry-based cohort study in France

Background

Although associated with better quality of life and potential economic advantages, home dialysis use varies greatly internationally and appears to be underused in many countries. This study aimed to estimate the dialysis-network variability in home dialysis use and identify factors associated with 1) the uptake in home dialysis, 2) the proportion of time spent on home dialysis and 3) home dialysis survival (patient and technique).

Methods

All adults ≥ 18 years old who had dialysis treatment during 2017-2019 in mainland France were included. Mixed-effects regression models were built to explore factors including patient or residence characteristics and dialysis network associated with variation in home dialysis use.

Results

During 2017-2019, 7 728/78 757 (9.8%) patients underwent dialysis at least once at home for a total of 120 594/ 1 508 000 (8%) months. The heterogeneity at the dialysis-network level and to a lesser extent the regional level regarding home dialysis uptake or total time spent was marginally explained by patient characteristics or residence and dialysis-network factors. Between-network heterogeneity was less for patient and technique survival. These results were similar when the analysis was restricted to home peritoneal dialysis or home hemodialysis.

Conclusions

Variability between networks in the use of home dialysis was not fully explained by non-modifiable patient and residence characteristics. Our results suggest that to increase home dialysis use in France, one should focus on home dialysis uptake rather than survival. Financial incentives and a quality improvement program should be implemented at the dialysis-network level to increase home dialysis use.

Is self-care dialysis associated with social deprivation in a universal health care system? A cohort study with data from the Renal Epidemiology and Information Network Registry

BACKGROUND

Socioeconomic status is associated with dialysis modality in developed countries. The main objective of this study was to investigate whether social deprivation, estimated by the European Deprivation Index (EDI), was associated with self-care dialysis in France.

METHODS

The EDI was calculated for patients who started dialysis in 2017. The event of interest was self-care dialysis 3 months after dialysis initiation [self-care peritoneal dialysis (PD) or satellite haemodialysis (HD)]. A logistic model was used for the statistical analysis, and a counterfactual approach was used for the causal mediation analysis.

RESULTS

Among the 9588 patients included, 2894 (30%) were in the most deprived quintile of the EDI. A total of 1402 patients were treated with self-care dialysis. In the multivariable analysis with the EDI in quintiles, there was no association between social deprivation and self-care dialysis. Compared with the other EDI quintiles, patients from Quintile 5 (most deprived quintile) were less likely to be on self-care dialysis (odds ratio 0.81, 95% confidence interval 0.71-0.93). Age, sex, emergency start, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, cancer, severe disability, serum albumin and registration on the waiting list were associated with self-care dialysis. The EDI was not associated with self-care dialysis in either the HD or in the PD subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS

In France, social deprivation estimated by the EDI is associated with self-care dialysis in end-stage renal disease patients undergoing replacement therapy.

Renal Failure Patients in Disasters

Disasters occur regularly, and frequently large numbers of patients treated with maintenance dialysis or with the recent onset of acute kidney injury are put at risk owing to the lack of access to dialysis care precipitating also a kidney failure disaster. The absence of necessary dialysis treatments can result in excessive emergency department visits, hospitalizations, morbidity, or an early death. Those with kidney failure are often evaluated in disaster medical locations or hospitals without nephrologists in attendance. Here we offer guidance for medical personnel evaluating such patients so that dialysis-dependent individuals can be properly assessed and managed with the need for urgent dialysis recognized. A disaster dialysis triage system is proposed. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:782-790).

International Variations in Peritoneal Dialysis Utilization and Implications for Practice

In many countries, the use of peritoneal dialysis (PD) remains low despite arguments that support its greater use, including dialysis treatment away from hospital settings, avoidance of central venous catheters, and potential health economic advantages. Training patients to manage aspects of their own care has the potential to enhance health literacy and increase patient involvement, independence, quality of life, and cost-effectiveness of care. Complex reasons underlie the variable use of PD across the world, acting at the level of the patient, the health care team that is responsible for them, and the health care system that they find themselves in. Important among these is the availability of competitively priced dialysis fluid. A number of key interventions can affect the uptake of PD. These include high-quality patient education around dialysis modality choice, timely and successful catheter placement, satisfactory patient training, and continued support that is tailored for specific needs, for example, when people present late requiring dialysis. Several health system changes have been shown to increase PD use, such as targeted funding, PD First initiatives, or physician-inserted PD catheters. This review explores the factors that explain the considerable international variation in the use of PD and presents interventions that can potentially affect them.

Peritoneal Dialysis: Turning Choice into Reality

Background

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) utilization rates vary widely between UK renal centers. Currently there are only limited data available on how many patients choose PD but subsequently fail to start their chosen modality. In the current analysis we sought to explore the outcomes of patients who chose PD in our center where all PD catheters are inserted via a mini-laparotomy with no acute-start PD service.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of 658 patients over a 12-year period who, following predialysis education had chosen PD as their preferred renal replacement therapy (RRT) modality. Data were collected on patient demographics, start modality, transplantation, patient survival, and the reasons patients failed to start PD.

Results

Predialysis education was given to 2,749 patients, and 658 (24%) chose PD. Of the 566 (86%) who either started RRT or died, less than half started PD ( n = 273, 48%). The commonest reason to start hemodialysis (HD) was an acute decline in kidney function leading to an effective ‘unplanned’ start on RRT. As a result, despite adjusting for older age and higher comorbidity, the transplant-censored survival at 3 years from the time of start of RRT was predictably worse in patients starting HD. Less than half the patients who started HD went on to commence PD later.

Conclusion

Unanticipated decline in kidney function leading to unplanned start on HD contributes to the worse outcomes associated with failing to start PD. How and when we insert PD catheters appears to be key, and we have identified ways to improve our service.

Peritoneal dialysis use within the context of the population and healthcare systems of Europe - differences, trends and future challenges

INTRODUCTION

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) and haemodialysis (HD) are complementary therapies in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Despite survival benefit, PD remains an underused therapy with variable utilisation and a common descriptive framework for this variation is not established. We reviewed the renal literature, general population and healthcare data to examine factors leading to variable PD use in Europe and possible changes in the future.

METHODS

ERA-EDTA data were used to examine PD distribution in Europe. Statistics and descriptive data about population structure and living conditions published by Eurostat, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Observatory were examined. Published literature (Pubmed), health system data (formal internet search approach) and professional body data (internet and personal communication) were examined to describe the factors that may explain PD variation.

RESULTS

PD usage varies across Europe and analysis of contributing factors enabled the development of a descriptive framework. PD variation cannot be entirely explained by the reimbursement system. It appears that factors specific to countries and centres as well as personalised ones involving patient-physician interaction are the most influential. The current and projected European population demographics and living conditions will lead to more elderly patients who live alone being on dialysis.

DISCUSSION

Factors relating to the patient-physician interaction are prime determinants around the utilization of PD. Population demographic change will lead to additional challenges to renal services. The descriptive framework postulated should be considered in strategic dialysis service planning and future product design to meet the needs of future dialysis patients and deliver patient choice.

Lack of motivation: a new modifiable risk factor for peritonitis in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis?

AIM

Can we identify modifiable risk factors for peritonitis in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD)? We aimed to determine whether housing standard, PD exchange technique or patient motivation might be modifiable risks for peritonitis. We also explored the relationship between lack of motivation and depression.

METHODS

Nurse home visits assessed PD exchange technique, environment and patient motivation. Motivation scores were correlated separately with an Apathy Evaluation Score and a depression score using PHQ-9 questionnaires.

RESULTS

Home hygiene, exchange technique and motivation were above average in 53%, 56% and 60%, respectively in 104 patients undergoing PD. After 15 months, 25.9% patients developed peritonitis but nurses' ratings of homes and exchange techniques were not predictive. Low patient motivation was predictive. Patients rated to have above or below median motivation had significantly different Apathy Scores (p = 0.0002). Unmotivated depressed patients were significantly more likely to develop peritonitis compared to motivated depressed patients.

CONCLUSION

Lack of motivation predicted peritonitis particularly if associated with depression. Further studies are required focusing on specific motivation scoring schemes and the psychosocial support that might lead to better outcomes.