The peritoneal dialysis (PD) biocompatibility hypothesis is that conventional PD solutions with high levels of glucose degradation products (GDPs), glucose and lactate, and low pH cause morphological ...and functional damage to the peritoneal membrane and that this damage may be attenuated by biocompatible solutions. Functional findings from randomized trials have not supported this hypothesis, and now new data from a large European pediatric peritoneal biopsy study provide a morphologic correlate for this. The implications are discussed.
Incremental peritoneal dialysis (PD) has been variably defined. It involves taking advantage of the residual renal function that is usually present at initiation of dialysis to initially prescribe ...less onerous lower doses of PD while still achieving individualized clearance goals. We propose that incremental PD be defined as a strategy, rather than a particular regime, in which: (1) less than standard “full-dose” PD is initially prescribed in recognition of the value of residual renal function; (2) peritoneal clearance is initially less than the individualized clearance goal but the combination of peritoneal plus renal clearance achieves or exceeds that goal clearance; and (3) there is a clear intention to increase dose of PD as renal clearance declines and/or symptoms appear.
Incremental PD by its nature lessens the workload of dialysis for those doing PD, reduces cost and exposure of the peritoneal membrane to glucose, and may lessen mechanical symptoms. Evidence that incremental PD improves clinical outcomes compared to the use of full-dose PD is lacking but one randomized controlled trial, multiple observational studies, and a systematic review all suggest that outcomes are at least as good. Given that incremental PD costs less and is inherently less onerous, it is reasonable, pending larger randomized trials, to adopt this strategy.
Person-centered care has become a dominant paradigm in modern health care. It needs to be applied to people with end-stage kidney disease considering the initiation of dialysis and to peritoneal ...dialysis (PD) prescription and care delivery. It is relevant to their decisions about goals of care, transplantation, palliative care, and discontinuation of dialysis. It is also relevant to decisions about how PD is delivered, including options such as incremental PD. Shared decision-making is the essence of this process and needs to become a standard principle of care. It requires engagement, education, and empowerment of patients. Patient-reported outcomes and patient-reported experience are also central to person-centered care in PD.
Patients undergoing long-term dialysis may be at higher risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and of associated disease and mortality. We aimed to ...describe the incidence, risk factors and outcomes for infection in these patients in Ontario, Canada.
We used linked data sets to compare disease characteristics and mortality between patients receiving long-term dialysis in Ontario who were diagnosed SARS-CoV-2 positive and those who did not acquire SARS-CoV-2 infection, between Mar. 12 and Aug. 20, 2020. We collected data on SARS-CoV-2 infection prospectively. We evaluated risk factors for infection and death using multivariable logistic regression analyses.
During the study period, 187 (1.5%) of 12 501 patients undergoing dialysis were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of those with SARS-CoV-2 infection, 117 (62.6%) were admitted to hospital and the case fatality rate was 28.3%. Significant predictors of infection included in-centre hemodialysis versus home dialysis (odds ratio OR 2.54, 95% confidence interval CI 1.59-4.05), living in a long-term care residence (OR 7.67, 95% CI 5.30-11.11), living in the Greater Toronto Area (OR 3.27, 95% CI 2.21-4.80), Black ethnicity (OR 3.05, 95% CI 1.95-4.77), Indian subcontinent ethnicity (OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.02-2.81), other non-White ethnicities (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.38-2.97) and lower income quintiles (OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.15-2.89).
Patients undergoing long-term dialysis are at increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and death from coronavirus disease 2019. Special attention should be paid to addressing risk factors for infection, and these patients should be prioritized for vaccination.
Vaccination studies in the hemodialysis population have demonstrated decreased antibody response compared with healthy controls, but vaccine effectiveness for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection and ...severe disease is undetermined.
We conducted a retrospective cohort study in the province of Ontario, Canada, between December 21, 2020, and June 30, 2021. Receipt of vaccine, SARS-CoV-2 infection, and related severe outcomes (hospitalization or death) were determined from provincial health administrative data. Receipt of one and two doses of vaccine were modeled in a time-varying cause-specific Cox proportional hazards model, adjusting for baseline characteristics, background community infection rates, and censoring for non-COVID death, recovered kidney function, transfer out of province, solid organ transplant, and withdrawal from dialysis.
Among 13,759 individuals receiving maintenance dialysis, 2403 (17%) were unvaccinated and 11,356 (83%) had received at least one dose by June 30, 2021. Vaccine types were BNT162b2 (
=8455, 74%) and mRNA-1273 (
=2901, 26%); median time between the first and second dose was 36 days (IQR 28-51). The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes for one dose compared with unvaccinated was 0.59 (95% CI, 0.46 to 0.76) and 0.54 (95% CI, 0.37 to 0.77), respectively, and for two doses compared with unvaccinated was 0.31 (95% CI, 0.22 to 0.42) and 0.17 (95% CI, 0.1 to 0.3), respectively. There were no significant differences in vaccine effectiveness among age groups, dialysis modality, or vaccine type.
COVID-19 vaccination is effective in the dialysis population to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes, despite concerns about suboptimal antibody responses.
Clinical practice guidelines discourage the use of central venous catheters (CVCs) for vascular access in dialysis. However, some patients have inadequate vessels for arteriovenous fistula creation ...or choose to use a dialysis catheter. The risks associated with CVC use and their relationship to patient age are poorly characterized.
Observational retrospective cohort study.
Cohort of 1,041 patients older than 18 years from 5 Canadian dialysis programs who initiated outpatient maintenance hemodialysis therapy with a tunneled CVC between 2004 and 2012 and who had no creation of an arteriovenous fistula or arteriovenous graft.
Age, sex, body size, initiating dialysis therapy in the hospital, and comorbid conditions.
CVC-related procedures, hospitalization, and death.
Complications were reported as a cumulative risk at 1 and 2 years. Cox proportional hazards regression for recurrent events was used to evaluate risk factors for study outcomes.
At 1 year, risks for CVC-related bacteremia, malfunction, and central stenosis were 9%, 15%, and 2%, respectively. Risks for any CVC-related complication at 1 and 2 years were 30% and 38%, respectively. Death related to CVC complications occurred in 6 of 1,041 (0.5%) patients. Compared with patients younger than 60 years, patients aged 70 to 79 and those 80 years or older experienced lower rates of CVC complications: HRs of 0.67 (95% CI, 0.52-0.85; P = 0.001) and 0.69 (95% CI, 0.52-0.92; P = 0.01), respectively.
This Canadian dialysis population may not be representative of populations in other countries. CVC use was not compared with other types of hemodialysis vascular access.
Approximately one-third of hemodialysis patients who used tunneled CVCs during 1 to 2 years experienced complications. Bacteremia occurred in ∼9% of patients at 1 year and were the most common cause of CVC-related hospitalizations. CVC-related death was infrequent. This information could be used to communicate the risk for CVC complications to patients treated with this type of hemodialysis vascular access.
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