Journal Watch
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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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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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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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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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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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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
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Prevalence of Anxiety in PD
Anxiety is less often measured than depression, but can be even more difficult for patients. A small study (n=85 PD patients), suggests that some degree of anxiety may be more prevalent than is currently realized. While about half (50.6%) reported minimal anxiety on the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the remaining half were split between mild (25.9%), moderate (14.1%) and severe (9.4%) anxiety. The authors suggest early diagnosis and management of mood disorders in ESRD patients.
Read the abstract » | (added 2026-01-16)
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The Impact of Obesity on Outcomes of Percutaneous PD Catheter Placement
Among 125 patients who had percutaneous PD catheter placement, nearly half (n=61) had normal BMI (<25 kg/m2), about one third (n=40) were overweight (BMI 25-29.9), and the remaining 24 were obese (BMI>30). One year later, 36 (28.8%) of the catheters failed, 3 patients died, and 7 received transplants. BMI was not significantly associated with catheter failure or other adverse events.
Read the abstract » | (added 2026-01-16)
Tags: Obesity, Outcomes, Percutaneous PD, Catheter Placement
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RCT: Rhythmic Breathing + Acupressure vs. Vapocoolant Spray for HD Needle Pain
A randomized control trial divided 157 patients into five groups to assess pain relief from hemodialysis needles: controls (n=34), rhythmic breathing (n=24), Hugo point acupressure (n=35), breathing + acupressure (n=37) and vapocoolant spray. The control group had mean score of 64.79 on the Visual Analogue Scale; the highest pain level. With rhythmic breathing, the mean score was 37.79. Those who used Hugo point acupressure had mean scores of 33.14. Rythmic breathing + acupressure resulted in mean scores of 28.35, and vapocoolant spray 25.59. All of the interventions significantly reduced pain compared to the controls.
Read the abstract » | (added 2026-01-16)
Tags: RCT, Rhythmic Breathing, Acupressure, Vapocoolant Spray, Needle Pain