Journal Watch

  • The PD Surprise Question Predicts Transfer to HD

    An observational study of 1,275 PD patients in 35 programs asking the RN and treating nephrologist, “Would you be surprised if this patient transferred to HD in the next 6 months?” identified 15% as high risk. After 6 months, the transfer to HD rate was nearly four times higher in the high risk group than the low risk group.

    Read the abstract » | (added 2023-12-15)

    Tags: PD, Home Dialysis, Peritoneal Dialysis, Surprise Question

  • Rate of Residual Kidney Function Decline and Mortality in PD

    When 497 PD patients were divided into two groups based on RRF decline value, those in the fast-decline group had significantly higher rates of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. In fact, each 0.1mL/min/1.73m2 per month drop in RRF in the first year of PD predicted a 19% higher risk of all-cause mortality and a 20% higher risk of cardiovascular mortality.

    Read the abstract » | (added 2023-11-15)

    Tags: Rate Of Residual Kidney Function Decline, All cause Mortality, Cardiovascular Mortality

  • Assisted PD in Europe

    Not every PD patient can perform solo treatments—or has a care partner to help. Some European countries are offering assisted PD in the home, often temporarily, using a variety of PD prescriptions and care provided by private care agencies or nursing home staff. Tailoring the prescription to residual kidney function reduces PD burden and aids technique survival.

    Read the abstract » | (added 2023-11-15)

    Tags: Assisted PD

  • Home Dialysis and Psychological Health

    An interview study of 36 people on PD (n=13) or home HD (n=7) and care partners identified four themes and subthemes, including isolation and disconnection, importance of support systems, burden of distress, and seeking mental health support.

    Read the abstract » | (added 2023-11-15)

    Tags: Isolation, Support Systems, Distress, Mental Health Support

  • How to Set Up New Home Dialysis Programs

    More than half of U.S. dialysis clinics are either not licensed to train patients in PD or home HD, or are licensed but have no patients in their home programs. A new review article outlines the core domains needed to set up and run a home dialysis program in the U.S.

    Read the abstract » | (added 2023-11-15)

    Tags: Home Dialysis Program, PD Training, Home HD Training

  • Hope, Quality of Life, and Psychoscial Distress in PD

    Are people on PD hopeful? A study from China surveyed 134 people on PD, assessing their level of hope. Working patients with higher income using APD had higher hope scores, and hope correlated significantly with both age and social support. Higher hope scores were linked with better mental well-being and less severe depression.

    Read the abstract » | (added 2023-11-15)

    Tags: Hope, Quality Of Life, Psychoscial Distress In PD, Income, APD, Depression

  • Steady Glucose Concentration in PD and Sodium Removal

    In a small pilot study (n=8), two fast-average and six fast transporters used a standard 4-hour CAPD dwell as a control, and three 5-hour steady-concentration treatments using the Carry Life® UF device following an overnight icodextrin fill as the intervention. UF rates were significantly higher with the steady glucose concentration treatments, as were sodium removal and glucose UF efficiency.

    Read the abstract » | (added 2023-11-15)

    Tags: PD, Glucose Concentration, Sodium Removal

  • Surprising Impact of First Dialysis Modality on Survival in Patients with Diabetes

    A retrospective cohort study of 739 patients from 2010 to 2018 (inclusive) used propensity score matching to compare mortality between standard HD and PD in China, matching 125 PD patients with HD patients. No significant differences were found—except in those with diabetes, who had significantly better survival with PD.

    Read the abstract » | (added 2023-11-15)

    Tags: Modality, Survival, Diabetes, Propensity Score Matching

  • Exercise and Quality of Life on PD

    In a cross sectional study of 339 PD patients, 81.7% exercised a median of 5 hours per week, mainly slow walking. Those who exercised had better quality of life. Older age, female sex, higher BMI, and pain were independently associated with lower exercise capacity.

    Read the abstract » | (added 2023-10-13)

    Tags: PD, Exercise, Quality Of Life

  • Melatonin Shows Promise for Preventing Peritoneal Fibrosis

    Glucose in peritoneal dialysate drives inflammation and angiogenesis, which lead to fibrosis that can cause loss of use of the membrane. A new study from China proposes that melatonin may break this cycle.

    Read the abstract » | (added 2023-10-13)

    Tags: Melatonin, Peritoneal Fibrosis, Glucose, GSDME, Pyroptosis