Are adverse events in newly trained home dialysis patients related to learning styles? A single-centre retrospective study from Toronto, Canada

Pathogenic spectrum and risk factors of peritoneal dialysis-associated peritonitis: a single-center retrospective study

The present study aimed to explore the pathogenic spectrum and risk factors of peritoneal dialysis-associated peritonitis (Peritoneal dialysis associated peritonitis, PDAP) in Yongzhou, Hunan, China. The clinical and epidemiological data on regular peritoneal dialysis (Peritoneal dialysis, PD) between January 2016 and December 2020 in Yongzhou were collected for retrospective analysis. The related factors of peritonitis were evaluated by single-factor analysis, while risk factors of refractory PDAP were evaluated by multivariate logistic regression analysis.172/331 172 (51.9%) patients developed peritonitis. The risk factors of PDAP in PD patients included high C-reactive protein (C-reactive protein, CRP), low albumin(Albumin, ALB), low hemoglobin (Hemoglobin, Hb), low educational level (junior high school or lower), preference of spicy food, irregular diet, low annual household income, unfavorable fluid exchange conditions, unstable employment (including working as a farmer), and unfavorable humidity conditions (P < 0.05). 63/172 (36.6%) PDAP patients were intractable cases with a pathogenic bacteria positive rate of 74.60% in the peritoneal dialysate cultures, and 109/172 patients were non-intractable cases with a pathogenic bacteria positive rate of 53.21%. Gram-positive bacteria (G+) were detected in most of the dialysate cultures, with Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) as the most common type, while Escherichia coli (E. coli) was the most common Gram-negative bacteria (G-). Gram-positive bacteria were sensitive to vancomycin and linezolid, while G- bacteria were sensitive to imipenem and amikacin. Lifestyle, educational level, and environmental factors are the major contributors to PDAP in PD patients. Fungal and multi-bacterial infections are the major causes of death; PD is stopped for such patients.

Patient Training and Patient Safety in Home Hemodialysis

The success of a home hemodialysis program depends largely on a patient safety framework and the risk tolerance of a home dialysis program. Dialysis treatments require operators to perform dozens of steps repeatedly and reliably in a complex procedure. For home hemodialysis, those operators are patients themselves or their care partners, so attention to safety and risk mitigation is front of mind. While newer, smaller, and more user-friendly dialysis machines designed explicitly for home use are slowly entering the marketplace, teaching patients to perform their own treatments in an unsupervised setting hundreds of times remains a foundational programmatic obligation regardless of machine. Just how safe is home hemodialysis? How does patient training affect this safety? There is a surprising lack of literature surrounding these questions. No consensus exists among home hemodialysis programs regarding optimized training schedules or methods, with each program adopting its own approach on the basis of local experience. Furthermore, there are little available data on the safety of home hemodialysis as compared with conventional in-center hemodialysis. This review will outline considerations for training patients on home hemodialysis, discuss the safety of home hemodialysis with an emphasis on the risk of serious and life-threatening adverse effects, and address the methods by which adverse events are monitored and prevented.

Peritoneal Dialysis Patient Training Program to Enhance independence and Prevent Complications: A Scoping Review

Background

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) training is essential to ensure patient independence and prevent life-threatening complications, such as peritonitis. The International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis (ISPD) recommends that every PD unit worldwide implement local PD training programs with the goal of improving self-care capabilities. This scoping review aims to give an overview of recent literature and recommendations on PD training programs aiming to improve the quality of care and outcomes for PD patients.

Methods

The literature search was conducted using the PC (Population, Concept) approach. The population of interest in this study is PD patients, and the study concept is the PD training program. Several databases were used to conduct the literature search, including PubMed, Science Direct, and CINAHL. The search process began from July 2022 until January 2023. The inclusion criteria for the search included research articles and recommendations.

Results

The search yielded 22 articles recommending training programs lasting from 5-8 days, with 1-3-hour sessions and a nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:1. A cumulative training time of 15 hours or more is recommended to enhance patient independence and reduce peritonitis rates. Home-based or in-unit PD training, conducted by experienced nurses using adult learning strategies, has shown significant value in improving self-care and preventing peritonitis. Evaluating training outcomes should encompass knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and the impact on peritonitis rates. Training programs should be flexible and consider physiological and psychosocial barriers to achieving the best results.

Conclusion

There are a variety of strategies for dialysis training concerning duration, session length, patient-to-trainer ratio, timing, methods, location, compliance, and the need for retraining. More evidence is needed to assess the impact of PD patient training programs on self-care capabilities and peritonitis incidence. Future studies should investigate the effects of training programs on compliance, self-efficacy, and patient and nurse perspectives.

Methods to assess adults' learning styles and factors affecting learning in health education: A scoping review

OBJECTIVES

To develop learner-centered education, knowledge about learning styles and factors that affect the ability to learn in patients and their significant others are essential. The present scoping review aims to identify current evidence on 1) how learning styles are assessed within health education, for adult patients as well as their significant others and 2) factors affecting learning in adult patients and their significant others who receive health education.

METHODS

Systematic literature searches were performed in ERIC, PubMed, Web of Science and PsycINFO.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

1) participants ≥ 18 years; 2) participants were patients or significant others; 3) assessment of learning style and/or factors affecting learning; and 4) health education as context.

RESULTS

45 articles were included. Learning style within health education can be assessed with multiple choice questions, qualitative methods and a validated questionnaire. Health literacy was the most reported factor affecting learning, followed by anxiety and illness condition.

CONCLUSIONS

Prior to the development of learner-centered education for patients and significant others, learning styles as well as factors affecting learning should be assessed in both patients and significant others.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

The process of learning is complex, and it is a shared responsibility of both the learner and the educator.

The Effect of a Patient Education Multimodal Digital Platform on Knowledge Acquisition, Self-efficacy, and Patient Satisfaction

This study examined the impact of digital training instrument based on multimodal learning approach on surgical ward hospitalized patient education-related variables. The study was conducted as a multisite study in a large medical center as a two-arm, controlled trial with randomized cluster sampling. All patients meeting the inclusion criteria were offered the opportunity to participate. The control group (n = 40) received nurse explanation on home self-injection of enoxaparin sodium, whereas the intervention group (n = 40) received a tablet for multimodal learning specifically developed for this study. All participants completed before-and-after questionnaires evaluating knowledge acquisition, change in self-efficacy, and patient satisfaction. Results showed that the intervention group gained significantly more knowledge than the control group (P < .01). There was no significant difference in the level of self-efficacy change between the groups, and it was found that the control group patients were more satisfied with the training process (P = .01). This study shows that the use of a digital application for the benefit of patients' self-injection learning is effective in achieving educational goals such as knowledge acquisition and therefore can be a helpful resource for caregivers. Yet, these applications are not a substitute for attention provided by professionals, which is highly valued by patients.

The need for individualizing teaching and assurance of knowledge transmission to patients training for home dialysis

Patients have varied learning styles and this has implications for home haemodialysis (HHD). Assessment tools directed toward understanding these styles remains understudied. As a consequence, this may lead to substandard retention rates or adverse events in HHD programs. As part of a continuous quality improvement initiative we have aimed to improve our understanding of patient learning styles and consequently tailor home dialysis training to individuals. To objectively determine knowledge translation and comprehension, irrespective of learning styles, we have introduced an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). This assessment tool allows for further refinement of educational priorities by highlighting both deficiencies and strengths. Thereafter, an exit OSCE ensures patients attain an acceptable standard to complete home haemodialysis independently. We hope this tool will help shape future training criteria for HHD programs and consequently reduce adverse event rates.

Exploring stakeholders and their requirements in the process of home hemodialysis: A literature review

Providing home hemodialysis (HHD) therapy is a complex process that not only requires the use of a complex technology but also involves a diverse group of stakeholders, and each stakeholder has their requirements and may not share a common interest. Bringing them together will require the alignment of their interests. A process management perspective can help to accomplish the alignment of their interests. To align their interests, it is crucial to identify interest groups and understand their interests. The main objective of this paper is to identify the stakeholders and represents their interests as a list of requirements in the HHD process. An extensive literature review has been carried out and PubMed was used for literature extraction. In total, 1848 articles were retrieved of which 80 have fulfilled the inclusion criteria. A large array of actors is identified and their interests/requirements at different stages of the HHD process are represented in the form of a list. They have both common and conflicting requirements in the HHD process. If these requirements are aligned and balanced, a stakeholder's driven treatment process will be developed and a real improvement will be achieved in the treatment process.

Risk of hospitalization, technique failure, and death with increased training duration in 3-days-a-week home hemodialysis

INTRODUCTION

Quality training is a core component of successful home hemodialysis (HHD) and training duration varies significantly between dialysis centers as well as at the patient level. This study aimed to assess the adverse outcomes associated with HHD training duration.

METHODS

All HHD patients successfully trained in a single dialysis center between January 2005 and July 2017 were included. A multivariable multiple-events (Andersen-Gill) survival model was built to evaluate the association between training time and main adverse events, including hospitalizations, technique failure, and death on HHD. Potential confounding factors were defined a priori (age, diabetes, coronary artery disease, and year of training start). Adjusted risk of vascular interventions (arteriovenous fistula angioplasties and central venous catheter replacements) was assessed as the secondary outcome in a negative binomial regression.

FINDINGS

Forty-eight patients were included in the study. Median HHD training duration was 86 (67-108) days, using a thrice weekly training schedule. Over a follow-up median time of 2.0 (0.7-3.3) years, three patients died while on HHD, 10 had a definitive transfer to HD, and 18 experienced a least 1 hospitalization (38 hospitalizations in total). Training duration was associated with a higher risk of hospitalization, technique failure, and death in unadjusted (hazard ratio [HR] 1.16 per month, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08-1.24) and adjusted multiple events model (HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.04-1.43). Risk of vascular access intervention was also significantly higher with increased training time (adjusted incidence rate ratio 1.31, 95% CI 1.03-1.64, per training month).

DISCUSSION

In this single-center observational study, HHD training duration was associated with a higher risk of adverse events including, death, technique failure, hospitalizations, and vascular access intervention. Enhanced clinical follow-up and home support should be offered to these more vulnerable patients to mitigate this heightened risk.

Innovations to Increase Home Hemodialysis Utilization: The Transitional Care Unit

A large proportion of patients undergoing incident dialysis start in-center hemodialysis with suboptimal preparation and predialysis education. Transitional care units deliver a structured program by dedicated staff, with less patient-to-staff ratios than in regular in-center dialysis care, with the goals of supporting the emotional and physical well-being of patients while providing them with education and equipping them with the right tools to start their journey on dialysis. Key components of these programs include an emphasis on patient activation and self-management, educating and supporting patients to make informed modality choices, timely coordination of care, and an integrated approach to formation and use of the dialysis access. While data are still limited on best practices and on outcomes of these programs at a large scale, endorsing the model of transitional care units is a step in the right direction to fill the gap in our current care system.

Physical Infrastructure and Integrated Governance Structure for Home Hemodialysis

In view of the growing enthusiasm for home dialysis use, new dialysis centers may build or expend their home hemodialysis program in the next few years. This review will discuss the main challenges faced by small and large home hemodialysis programs in terms of physical spaces, human resource, training considerations, and overall governance. We will elaborate on the inclusion of home hemodialysis in the kidney replacement therapy care continuum, with a specific interest for collaboration and transition between peritoneal dialysis and home hemodialysis programs.

Complications and challenges of home hemodialysis: A historical review

Home hemodialysis (HHD) has evolved as a preferred and safe kidney replacement modality over the past six decades. Despite advances in technological aspects of HHD, potential complications still pose a challenge to health care givers, patients, and their families. In this narrative review, we describe vascular access and cannulation, anticoagulation, nutritional, residual kidney function, psychosocial, technique failure, and machine/procedural-related complications. Addressing these problems is essential for favorable patient outcomes.

Optimizing Peritoneal Dialysis-Associated Peritonitis Prevention in the United States: From Standardized Peritoneal Dialysis-Associated Peritonitis Reporting and Beyond

Peritoneal dialysis (PD)-associated peritonitis is the leading cause of permanent transition to hemodialysis among patients receiving PD. Peritonitis is associated with higher mortality risk and added treatment costs and limits more widespread PD utilization. Optimizing the prevention of peritonitis in the United States will first require standardization of peritonitis definitions, key data elements, and outcomes in an effort to facilitate nationwide reporting. Standardized reporting can also help describe the variability in peritonitis rates and outcomes across facilities in the United States in an effort to identify potential peritonitis prevention strategies and engage with stakeholders to develop strategies for their implementation. Here, we will highlight considerations and challenges in developing standardized definitions and implementation of national reporting of peritonitis rates by PD facilities. We will describe existing peritonitis prevention evidence gaps, highlight successful infection-reporting initiatives among patients receiving in-center hemodialysis or PD, and provide an overview of nationwide quality improvement initiatives, both in the United States and elsewhere, that have translated into a reduction in peritonitis incidence. We will discuss opportunities for collaboration and expansion of the Nephrologists Transforming Dialysis Safety (NTDS) initiative to develop knowledge translation pathways that will lead to dissemination of best practices in an effort to reduce peritonitis incidence.