Journal Watch
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PD Patients Exhibit Cognitive Deficits but Not Ischemic Brain Injury
How does PD affect the brain? In this small imaging and cognitive study, researchers observed patterns of impairment and unexpected metabolic changes. The findings raise new questions about the neurological effects of PD that merit closer investigation.
Read the abstract » | (added 2026-03-12)
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The European Renal Calculator (EuReCa) App: Calculating Incremental HD Dose
Incremental HD can reduce treatment burden for patients with residual kidney function. Researchers have developed the EuReCa app to help nephrologists calculate the parameters needed to maintain adequate total clearance.
Read the abstract » | (added 2026-03-12)
Tags: Incremental HD, Treatment Burden, EuReCa App, Total Clearance
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Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous PD Cather Insertion Technique to Reduce Migration
PD catheter migration can interrupt treatment and compromise outcomes, but it is challenging to prevent. In a two-center study, researchers examined whether adding musculofascial tunnelling during catheter insertion improves catheter stability.
Read the abstract » | (added 2026-03-12)
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How Accurate is Depression Screening in Home Dialysis?
No depression instruments have been evaluated for accuracy with patients who do home dialysis or receive transplants. Data from 203 patients using various kidney replacement modalities completed three different depression assessments to see which was most efficient for clinical use. Of the participants, 18.2% met depression criteria. The commonly-used Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition (BDI-II) and Beck Fast Screen (BDI-FS) exceeded 90% sensitivity and negative prediction for home therapies using modality-specific thressholds. A third tool, the Depression Subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D) had lower sensitivity and home dialysis patients (70%) and those with transplants (86.7%).
Read the abstract » | (added 2026-02-17)
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Latent Demand for Home Therapies in China
A national survey of in-center HD patients (n=2,847; 3+ months) in China assessed HHD adoption intent. One quarter (n=717) reported high adoption intent; these patients tended to be younger, male, employed, and university educated. They had higher AVF use, Kt/V, knowledge, prior HHD discussion, fewer ER visits, better adherence, and lower total dialysis costs. With better outcomes, helping this group of patients reach HHD could improve health equity, reduce health system burden, and strengthen financial protection for vulnerable populations.
Read the abstract » | (added 2026-02-17)
Tags: China, HHD Adoption Intent, Outcomes
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Zinc Deficiency and Anemia in PD
Analysis of data from 164 adults on PD set a target hemoglobin level of 11-13g/dL and ESA dosage as low- (<120 µg/month) or high-dose (>120 µg/month). Zinc deficiency was defined as a serum zinc level <60 µg/dL. In the low-dose ESA, non-zinc deficient group, 48.2% of patients achieved the target hemoglobin level, while in in the high-dose ESA, zinc-deficient group, just 12.2% did. These results were not changed with the addition of serum albumin C-reactive protein, or TSAT. The authors conclude that “serum zinc levels should be routinely monitored in patients with ESA-hyporesponsive anemia.”
Read the abstract » | (added 2026-02-17)
Tags: Zinc Deficiency, Anemia, PD
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Pregnancy Risks on Dialysis: Analysis of 2.6M Births
Compared to women who do not have chronic kidney disease (CKD), National Health Insurance Service data from more than 2.6 million women who gave birth from 2008 to 2017 found that congenital malformations (CMs) occurred in 4.79% of offspring from healthy moms, 5.29% in those with CKD, and 9.65% in moms who had end-stage kidney disease—with transplants conferring more risk than dialysis. Heart defects were the most common in every group.
Read the abstract » | (added 2026-02-17)
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Redesigning PD Supplies for Life Cycle Sustainability
PD tends to rely heavily on single-use plastic. Can better design change this? Researchers redesigned ten high-use PD products such as PD sets, dialysate bags, and APD machines by modelling them in Open Life Cycle Assessment, comparing cradle-to-gate carbon footprints of the originals vs. the new. All of the redesigned projects reduced carbon footprints, eight of them by >40%. It is possible to reduce emissions without altering functionality.
Read the abstract » | (added 2026-02-17)
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HD Adequacy Based on Middle Molecules
A crossover study of 30 HD patients assessed middle molecule removal with standard HD vs. hemodiafiltration (HDF), with a 2-week washout period between them. Measurements of serum IL-1 and myoglobulin were measured pre- and post-treatment. There were no differences in these levels at baseline, and the highest reduction ratios for both IL-1 (81.6+12.6%) and myoglobulin (83.8+10.6%) as well as urea (75.2+5.6%) were found after HDF.
Read the abstract » | (added 2026-01-16)
Tags: HD Adequacy, Middle Molecules, IL 1, Myoglobulin
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COVID Risk for In-center vs. Home Dialysis Patients
A study of 7,974 U.S. dialysis clinics reported on SARS-CoV-2 infections among 171,338 patients. To the surprise of no one, researchers found that the rate of COVID infection was 68% lower among patients who received their treatments in their own homes (2.85 infections per 1000 patient-weeks in-center vs. 1.69 infections per 1000 patient-weeks at home).
Read the abstract » | (added 2026-01-16)
Tags: SARS CoV 2, HHD