Andreas Pierratos Tribute: Personal Reflections.

Since the passing of Andreas Pierratos on November 15, 2022, we have had many occasions to reflect on what our relationship with a friend and colleague has meant. We have done this in solitude, with colleagues while at work and more recently, in a tribute organized at Humber River Hospital on March 26, 2023. We also had the opportunity to expand, in the February 2023 issue of the Nephrology News & Issues, on his many contributions to nephrology and to the betterment of patients' lives. For this collaboration, we thought we would share our personal reflections of this unique individual, with the hope that this effort would provide a deeper appreciation of his unique humanity.

Nephrologists' Attitudes Regarding Psychosocial Care in Hemodialysis Units.

BACKGROUND: There is a high prevalence of psychosocial issues affecting patients with kidney failure. OBJECTIVE: We sought to examine Canadian nephrologists' attitudes and opinions regarding the importance of renal patient psychosocial care, nephrologists' roles, and experience with psychosocial care in addition to what barriers, if any, prevent these physicians from providing psychosocial care to their patients. DESIGN: A self-administered, survey questionnaire. SETTING: Online. SAMPLE: Canadian Society of Nephrology members who predominantly work in clinical care with adult, in-center hemodialysis patients. MEASUREMENTS: Measurements of the survey include demographics, training, and nephrologists' opinions regarding their role in administering psychosocial care, potential administrative and patient time constraints, accessibility of other health care workers for this activity, and factors that influence or impede physicians' ability to address their patients' psychosocial needs. METHODS: A self-administered survey was sent to almost 500 members of the Canadian Society of Nephrology between November 2018 and December 2018. The survey questionnaire was designed to gather opinions and attitudes on psychosocial care delivery as well as potential influencing factors on nephrologists' ability to provide this care. A univariate statistical analysis was used to analyze survey responses. RESULTS: A total of 30 nephrologists responded to the survey, generating a 6% response rate. Respondents varied across provinces, with the majority being staff nephrologists (80%). While over 94% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that focus on psychosocial care improves patient outcomes, only 43% felt that staff nephrologists were suited to provide this care to patients; 97% of respondents believed social workers to be the most suited to provide this. Lack of additional supporting health care members, the need for additional training, too many administrative duties, and empathy fatigue were some of the predominant barriers respondents felt prevented them from addressing the psychosocial care of their patients. LIMITATIONS: A low response rate for the survey was obtained, roughly 6%, limiting our ability to draw definitive conclusions. Survey answers by respondents may be different from those by nonrespondents. Answers may be subject to social desirability and/or selection bias. CONCLUSION: Nephrologists believe that the current psychosocial care of patients in hemodialysis units is inadequate. However, further research is necessary to elucidate the barriers nephrologists face in providing psychosocial care and the changes required to most effectively implement optimal psychosocial care for patients with kidney failure in hemodialysis units.

CONTEXTE: La prévalence des problèmes psychosociaux chez les patients atteints d'insuffisance rénale est élevée. OBJECTIFS: Nous souhaitions connaître les attitudes et opinions des néphrologues canadiens sur l'importance de prodiguer des soins psychosociaux aux patients atteints d'insuffisance rénale, sur leurs rôles et leur expérience en matière de soins psychosociaux et, le cas échéant, sur les obstacles qui les empêchent de prodiguer des soins psychosociaux à leurs patients. TYPE D'ÉTUDE: Un sondage auto-administré. CADRE: Sondage en ligne. ÉCHANTILLON: Les membres de la Société canadienne de néphrologie travaillant principalement dans les soins cliniques de patients adultes hémodialysés en centre hospitalier. MESURES: Le questionnaire permettait de recueillir les données démographiques, de l'information sur la formation, ainsi que l'avis des néphrologues sur leur rôle dans la prestation de soins psychosociaux, sur les possibles contraintes de temps du côté administratif et des patients, sur l'accessibilité des autres professionnels de la santé pour cette activité et sur les facteurs qui empêchent les médecins de répondre aux besoins psychosociaux de leurs patients. MÉTHODOLOGIE: Un sondage a été envoyé à près de 500 membres de la Société canadienne de néphrologie entre novembre 2018 et décembre 2018. Le questionnaire était conçu pour recueillir les attitudes et opinions des répondants sur la prestation des soins psychosociaux et sur les facteurs susceptibles de limiter la capacité des néphrologues à fournir ces soins. Une analyse statistique univariée a été employée pour analyser les réponses. RÉSULTATS: Seulement 30 néphrologues ont répondu au sondage, soit un taux de réponse de 6 %. Les répondants variaient selon les provinces; la majorité étant des néphrologues impliqués dans les soins aux patients (80 %). Bien qu'une très grande majorité des répondants (94 %) ait mentionné être d'accord ou fortement d'accord pour dire que les soins psychosociaux améliorent les résultats des patients, seulement 43 % ont estimé que les néphrologues étaient en mesure d'offrir ces soins aux patients; 97 % des répondants ont par ailleurs jugé que les travailleurs sociaux seraient mieux placés pour le faire. Le manque de personnel de soutien supplémentaire dans le secteur de la santé, la nécessité d'une formation supplémentaire, un trop grand nombre de tâches administratives et la fatigue liée à l'empathie sont quelques-uns des principaux obstacles nommés par les répondants comme des facteurs les ayant empêchés de prodiguer des soins psychosociaux à leurs patients. LIMITES: Le faible taux de réponse (environ 6 %) limite notre capacité à tirer des conclusions définitives. Les réponses offertes par les participants pourraient différer de celles des non-répondants. Les réponses sont sujettes à des biais dus à la désirabilité sociale ou à des biais de sélection. CONCLUSION: Les néphrologues estiment que les soins psychosociaux actuels pour les patients des unités d'hémodialyse sont insuffisants. D'autres recherches sont nécessaires pour mieux comprendre les obstacles auxquels font face les néphrologues dans la prestation de soins psychosociaux. Ces recherches pourraient également préciser les changements nécessaires pour mettre en œuvre le plus efficacement possible des soins psychosociaux optimaux pour les patients atteints d'insuffisance rénale dans les unités d'hémodialyse. ENREGISTREMENT DE L'ESSAI: Sans objet en raison de la nature de l'étude (il ne s'agit pas d'un essai clinique).

Attitudes and Opinions of Canadian Nephrologists Toward Continuous Quality Improvement Options.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: A shift to holding individual physicians accountable for patient outcomes, rather than facilities, is intuitively attractive to policy makers and to the public. We were interested in nephrologists' attitudes to, and awareness of, quality metrics and how nephrologists would view a potential switch from the current model of facility-based quality measurement and reporting to publically available reports at the individual physician level. DESIGN SETTING PARTICIPANTS AND MEASUREMENTS: The study was conducted using a web-based survey instrument (Online Appendix 1). The survey was initially pilot tested on a group of 8 nephrologists from across Canada. The survey was then finalized and e-mailed to 330 nephrologists through the Canadian Society of Nephrology (CSN) e-mail distribution list. The 127 respondents were 80% university based, and 33% were medical/dialysis directors. RESULTS: The response rate was 43%. Results demonstrate that 89% of Canadian nephrologists are engaged in efforts to improve the quality of patient care. A minority of those surveyed (29%) had training in quality improvement. They feel accountable for this and would welcome the inclusion of patient-centered metrics of care quality. Support for public reporting as an effective strategy on an individual nephrologist level was 30%. CONCLUSIONS: Support for public reporting of individual nephrologist performance was low. The care of nephrology patients will be best served by the continued development of a critical mass of physicians trained in patient safety and quality improvement, by focusing on patient-centered metrics of care delivery, and by validating that all proposed new methods are shown to improve patient care and outcomes.

CONTEXTE ET OBJECTIFS DE L'ÉTUDE: Une transition vers l'attribution de la responsabilité des résultats des patients au médecin traitant plutôt qu'à l'établissement de soins de santé est un concept attrayant pour les décideurs et le grand public. Notre objectif d'étude était bipartite: d'abord, nous voulions explorer la perception et la connaissance qu'ont les néphrologues des indicateurs de la qualité des soins; ensuite, nous souhaitions prendre connaissance de l'avis des néphrologues sur un éventuel changement de modèle, lequel évalue actuellement la qualité des soins de manière globale plutôt que pour chaque médecin et enfin, sur l'idée que de tels rapports individuels soient accessibles au public. CONCEPTION ET CADRE DE L'ÉTUDE PARTICIPANTS ET MÉTHODOLOGIE: L'étude a été réalisée à l'aide d'un sondage Web (voir l'annexe 1). Une version provisoire du sondage a d'abord été testée auprès de huit néphrologues de partout au Canada. La version définitive du sondage a été envoyée par courriel à 330 néphrologues figurant sur la liste d'envoi de la Société canadienne de néphrologie (SCN). Le taux de réponse global a été de 43%. Des 127 répondants, la grande majorité (80%) travaillait en milieu universitaire et 33% occupait un poste de directeur médical ou de directeur d'unité de dialyse. RÉSULTATS: Les résultats ont démontré que 89% des néphrologues canadiens s'efforcent déjà d'améliorer les soins prodigués aux patients, et qu'une minorité d'entre eux (29%) ont reçu une formation pertinente. De manière générale, ils se sentent responsables de la qualité des soins et sont réceptifs à l'idée d'inclure des critères d'évaluation plus axés sur les patients. Le taux d'approbation en regard de l'accès libre aux rapports individuels comme une stratégie efficace au plan individuel était de 30%. CONCLUSION: Un faible pourcentage des néphrologues s'est prononcé en faveur de la divulgation publique de rapport faisant état de leur performance individuelle. Les soins prodigués aux patients suivis en néphrologie seront perfectionnés en continuant d'augmenter le nombre de médecins formés en matière d'amélioration de la qualité des soins aux patients et de sécurité, en promouvant des indicateurs de qualité centrés sur les patients, et en vérifiant que toute nouvelle méthode proposée vise foncièrement à améliorer les soins ou les résultats des patients.

Optimizing dialysate potassium.

Potassium shifts in thrice weekly HD patients are likely a reversible cause of arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. In general, a dialysate potassium <2.0 mmol/L should be avoided, and many patients with dialysate potassium of 2 mmol/L could safely be adjusted upwards. The ideal predialysis serum potassium should be around 5.0 mmol/L. Trends in serum potassium and not single values, should inform chronic changes of dialysate potassium prescription. Atypical values should be dealt with as a one off, but should not lead to chronic bath changes. Referral to a renal dietician for counseling to limit dietary potassium intake is vital to prevent recurrence of these atypical episodes. Finally, facilities should develop and implement a formal and reliable way to alert the physician about possible potassium bath mismatching. This facility level approach works best if a policy is developed and endorsed by all involved stakeholders.

Health state utilities associated with major clinical events in the context of secondary hyperparathyroidism and chronic kidney disease requiring dialysis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) who require dialysis are at increased risk for cardiovascular events and bone fractures. To assist in economic evaluations, this study aimed to estimate the disutility of these events beyond the impact of CKD and SHPT. METHODS: A basic one-year health state was developed describing CKD and SHPT requiring dialysis. Further health states added acute events (cardiovascular events, fractures, and surgical procedures) or chronic post-event effects. Acute health states described a year including an event, and chronic health states described a year subsequent to an event. General population participants in Canada completed time trade-off interviews from which utilities were derived. Pairwise comparisons were made between the basic state and event, and between comparable health states. RESULTS: A total of 199 participants (54.8% female; mean age = 46.3 years) completed interviews. Each health state had ≥130 valuations. The mean (SD) utility of the basic health state was 0.60 (0.34). For acute events, mean utility differences versus the basic state were: myocardial infarction, -0.06; unstable angina, -0.05; peripheral vascular disease (PVD) with amputation, -0.33; PVD without amputation, -0.11; heart failure, -0.14; stroke, -0.30; hip fracture, -0.14; arm fracture, -0.04; parathyroidectomy, +0.02; kidney transplant, +0.06. Disutilities for chronic health states were: stable angina, -0.09; stroke, -0.27; PVD with amputation, -0.30; PVD without amputation, -0.12; heart failure, -0.14. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiovascular events and fractures were associated with lower utility scores, suggesting a perceived decrease in quality of life beyond the impact of CKD and SHPT.

Systems to cultivate suitable patients for home dialysis.

The key to developing, initiating, and maintaining a strong home dialysis program is a fundamental commitment by the entire team to identify and cultivate patients who are suitable candidates to perform home dialysis. This process must start as early as possible in the disease trajectory, and must include a passionate and daily focus by physicians, nurses, social workers, and other members of the multidisciplinary team. This effort must be constant and sustained over months, with active promotion of home dialysis for suitable patients at every opportunity. Cultivation of suitable patients must become a defining and overarching mission for the entire program. This article reviews some of the components involved in this worthwhile effort and provides practical tips and links to resources.

Should nephrologists take a larger role in interventional nephrology, and should central line insertion remain a requirement of nephrology residency training? A debate.

The Canadian Society of Nephrology must soon provide input concerning the future of procedural training in nephrology. While at one time, the ability to insert a central venous catheter (CVC) was an essential skill required by all nephrologists, in 2014, nephrology training and practice has changed in fundamental ways such that it would be both unreasonable, and impractical, to maintain this requirement. Indeed, survey evidence suggests that many current trainees are not achieving this competency. Amongst the reasons that this requirement should be withdrawn include: 1) Not all trainees have the procedural skills to safely learn to insert CVC's. 2) Most nephrologists in training and in practice are intellectually oriented, not procedurally oriented and are not seeking to perform lots of procedures. 3) In most practice settings, interventional radiologists and intensive care doctors perform dialysis line insertions using real time ultrasound guidance frequently, and offer timely, safer, and better service to patients. 4) Most trainees will not enter practice settings where CVC insertion ability is required. 5) Otherwise excellent future trainees may be denied a nephrology certificate of special competence only because they are unable to insert a CVC by the end of their fellowship. 6) Academic nephrology training programs that cannot provide adequate CVC insertion experience to fellows may lose their status as training centres. As a pragmatic way forward, Canadian nephrology training programs must encourage and offer only those nephrology trainees who have the ability and interest in procedural nephrology, a pathway through which they may be provided superb advanced training to become an expert. There is no longer a compelling reason to mandate this for all trainees.

La Société Canadienne de Néphrologie doit bientôt donner son avis sur le futur de l'enseignement des compétences procédurales en néphrologie. Pouvoir insérer un cathéter veineux central (CVC) a longtemps été une compétence fondamentale pour tous les néphrologues; cependant, en 2014, la formation et la pratique de la néphrologie ne sont plus ce qu'elles étaient, et il serait à la fois déraisonnable et peu réaliste de vouloir conserver cette exigence.En effet, les résultats de sondages laissent entrevoir que plusieurs résidents n'arrivent pas à combler cette exigence lors de leur formation. Parmi les raisons évoquées en faveur du retrait de cette exigence, on retrouve : 1) Tous les résidents ne détiennent pas les compétences procédurales nécessaires à l'insertion sécuritaire des CVC; 2) La majorité des néphrologues, qu'ils soient en formation ou en pratique, préfèrent le travail intellectuel aux procédures et ne cherchent pas à appliquer ce type de savoir-faire; 3) Dans la plupart des environnements de travail, les radiologistes interventionnels et les intensivistes insèrent les CVC de dialyse sous échographie de façon rapide et sécuritaire pour les patients; 4) La plupart des résidents ne travailleront pas dans un service qui exige du néphrologue qu'il insère les CVC; 5) Des résidents dont le parcours est excellent pourraient se voir refuser un certificat de compétence en néphrologie à la fin de leur résidence simplement parce qu'ils ne sont pas capables d'insérer un CVC; 6) Les programmes de formation universitaire en néphrologie qui ne peuvent pas fournir une exposition à la technique pratique considérée adéquate en matière d'insertion de CVC à ses résidents pourraient perdre leur statut de centre de formation.Les programmes canadiens de formation en néphrologie doivent proposer une solution pragmatique à ce problème en continuant d'offrir l'enseignement des compétences procédurales aux résidents qui détiennent à la fois les habiletés et l'intérêt en la matière et en encourageant ceux qui sont intéressés par ces techniques à devenir des experts par le biais de formations plus poussées. Par contre, il n'existe aucune raison impérative d'exiger ceci de tous les résidents.

Recent changes in therapeutic approaches and association with outcomes among patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism on chronic hemodialysis: the DOPPS study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Elevated parathyroid hormone levels may be associated with adverse clinical outcomes in patients on dialysis. After the introduction of practice guidelines suggesting higher parathyroid hormone targets than those previously recommended, changes in parathyroid hormone levels and treatment regimens over time have not been well documented. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: Using data from the international Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study, trends in parathyroid hormone levels and secondary hyperparathyroidism therapies over the past 15 years and the associations between parathyroid hormone and clinical outcomes are reported; 35,655 participants from the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study phases 1-4 (1996-2011) were included. RESULTS: Median parathyroid hormone increased from phase 1 to phase 4 in all regions except for Japan, where it remained stable. Prescriptions of intravenous vitamin D analogs and cinacalcet increased and parathyroidectomy rates decreased in all regions over time. Compared with 150-300 pg/ml, in adjusted models, all-cause mortality risk was higher for parathyroid hormone=301-450 (hazard ratio, 1.09; 95% confidence interval, 1.01 to 1.18) and >600 pg/ml (hazard ratio, 1.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.12 to 1.34). Parathyroid hormone >600 pg/ml was also associated with higher risk of cardiovascular mortality as well as all-cause and cardiovascular hospitalizations. In a subgroup analysis of 5387 patients not receiving vitamin D analogs or cinacalcet and with no prior parathyroidectomy, very low parathyroid hormone (<50 pg/ml) was associated with mortality (hazard ratio, 1.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.04 to 1.51). CONCLUSIONS: In a large international sample of patients on hemodialysis, parathyroid hormone levels increased in most countries, and secondary hyperparathyroidism treatments changed over time. Very low and very high parathyroid hormone levels were associated with adverse outcomes. In the absence of definitive evidence in support of a specific parathyroid hormone target, there is an urgent need for additional research to inform clinical practice.

Debate: Should dialysis at home be mandatory for all suitable ESRD patients?: patients should not be forced onto home dialysis.

Outcomes are similar between hospital-based hemodialysis and less expensive home-based therapies, especially home peritoneal dialysis. Because of this, some have argued that all suitable patients should be forced to these less expensive modalities. However, such an approach would violate the ethical principles of autonomy and maleficence, and would run counter to the movement toward patient-centered care. Therefore, from a North American perspective, home dialysis should be actively promoted for suitable patients, but should not be mandatory. Extending these arguments into newer paradigms of home- and community-based dialysis, with paid assistance, will be a challenge as traditional cost effectiveness arguments may not be definitive and effective. Nephrology will need to embrace new methods for evaluation of therapies and to develop and endorse sophisticated principles of advocacy to influence health care policy and funding decision makers to maximize nonhospital-based, patient-centered care and improve outcomes in the future.

Identification of facilitators and barriers to home dialysis selection by canadian adults with ESRD.

Home dialysis (home HD or home PD) remains underutilized in most jurisdictions. Physicians, advanced-practice nurses, and policy makers working with chronic kidney disease populations can provide insights into patient, healthcare professional, and system-level barriers to home dialysis selection by suitable patients. We used in-depth interviews, with a purposive sampling strategy until informational redundancy was achieved, to elicit barriers and facilitators to home dialysis selection from thirteen informants. We triangulated these data against qualitative data collected in a related survey of nephrologist attitudes. We used a modified grounded theory approach to construct a taxonomy of barriers and facilitators. Informants included nephrologists (n = 11), an advanced-practice nurse, and a health administrator with a provincial renal care organization. We constructed separate taxonomies of barriers and related facilitators that were specific to PD, specific to home HD, and common to both. We distinguished between factors favoring, modifiable factors opposing, and nonmodifiable factors opposing home dialysis selection. Several major themes emerged, including: medical factors, home physical environment, psychological and cognitive factors (knowledge, attitudes, coping styles), social factors (supports, lifestyle), dialysis program, local hospital or regional factors (expertise, resources, local culture), healthcare professional-related factors (knowledge, attitudes, reimbursement), health system-related factors (funding models), and exogenous factors (late referral, technology). We identified several modifiable practices at the level of patient, healthcare professional, dialysis facility, and healthcare system to increase appropriate use of home dialysis. We discuss potential facilitating factors, knowledge gaps, and priorities for future research, and propose potential applications for this novel taxonomy of determinants of dialysis modality choice.

Effect of calcium-based versus non-calcium-based phosphate binders on mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Phosphate binders (calcium-based and calcium-free) are recommended to lower serum phosphate and prevent hyperphosphataemia in patients with chronic kidney disease, but their effects on mortality and cardiovascular outcomes are unknown. We aimed to update our meta-analysis on the effect of calcium-based versus non-calcium-based phosphate binders on mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease. METHODS: We did a systematic review of articles published in any language after Aug 1, 2008, up until Oct 22, 2012, by searching Medline, Embase, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. We included all randomised and non-randomised trials that compared outcomes between patients with chronic kidney disease taking calcium-based phosphate binders with those taking non-calcium-based binders. Eligible studies, determined by consensus with predefined criteria, were reviewed, and data were extracted onto a standard form. We combined data from randomised trials to assess the primary outcome of all-cause mortality using the DerSimonian and Laird random effects model. FINDINGS: Our search identified 847 reports, of which eight new studies (five randomised trials) met our inclusion criteria and were added to the ten (nine randomised trials) included in our previous meta-analysis. Analysis of the 11 randomised trials (4622 patients) that reported an outcome of mortality showed that patients assigned to non-calcium-based binders had a 22% reduction in all-cause mortality compared with those assigned to calcium-based phosphate binders (risk ratio 0·78, 95% CI 0·61-0·98). INTERPRETATION: Non-calcium-based phosphate binders are associated with a decreased risk of all-cause mortality compared with calcium-based phosphate binders in patients with chronic kidney disease. Further studies are needed to identify causes of mortality and to assess whether mortality differs by type of non-calcium-based phosphate binder. FUNDING: None.

Temporal risk profile for infectious and noninfectious complications of hemodialysis access.

Vascular access complications are a major cause of morbidity in patients undergoing hemodialysis, and determining how the risks of different complications vary over the life of an access may benefit the design of prevention strategies. We used data from the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS) to assess the temporal profiles of risks for infectious and noninfectious complications of fistulas, grafts, and tunneled catheters in incident hemodialysis patients. We used longitudinal data to model time from access placement or successful treatment of a previous complication to subsequent complication and considered multiple accesses per patient and repeated access complications using baseline and time-varying covariates to obtain adjusted estimates. Of the 7769 incident patients identified, 7140 received at least one permanent access. During a median follow-up of 14 months (interquartile range, 7-22 months), 10,452 noninfectious and 1131 infectious events (including 551 hospitalizations for sepsis) occurred in 112,085 patient-months. The hazards for both complication types declined over time in all access types: They were 5-10 times greater in the first 3-6 months than in later periods after access placement or a remedial access-related procedure. The hazards declined more quickly with fistulas than with grafts and catheters (P<0.001; Weibull regression). These data indicate that risks for noninfectious and infectious complications of the hemodialysis access decline over time with all access types and suggest that prevention strategies should target the first 6 months after access placement or a remedial access-related procedure.

A systematic review of buttonhole cannulation practices and outcomes.

Buttonhole (constant site) cannulation has emerged as an attractive technique for needling arteriovenous fistulae. However, the balance of benefits and harms associated with this intervention is unclear. We conducted a systematic review of studies reporting outcomes with buttonhole cannulation. The setting and population included adult patients receiving home or center hemodialysis. We searched MEDLINE, Embase (1980-June 2012), and CINAHL (1997-June 2012), for randomized and observational studies. We also searched conference proceedings (2009-2011). The interventions included: 1) buttonhole cannulation established by sharp needles, with or without a polycarbonate peg, 2) rope-ladder cannulation. Outcomes of interest included: Facility practices, systemic infection, local infection, access survival, access interventions, access-related hospitalization, patient survival, pain, quality of life, and aneurysm formation. We identified 23 full-text articles and 4 abstracts; 3 were open-label trials, and the remainder observational studies of varying design and methodological quality. Studies were predominantly descriptive and lacked direct comparisons between buttonhole and rope-ladder cannulation. No qualitative differences in outcomes were noted among home and center hemodialysis patients using buttonhole cannulation. Rates of bacteremia were generally higher with buttonhole cannulation. Studies reporting access survival, hospitalization, quality of life, pain, and aneurysm formation had serious methodological limitations that limited our confidence in their estimates of effect. Among the various facility practices that were described, only the application of mupirocin cream was noted to be associated with reduced risk of infection. Limitations in included studies were short follow-up, crossover designs, lack of parallel control groups, and the use of patient-reported outcome measures that were not well validated. The main limitation of this review was a limited literature search. Buttonhole cannulation may be associated with an increased risk of infection. Larger, more definitive studies are needed to determine whether this technique is safe for broader use.

Major bleeding events and risk stratification of antithrombotic agents in hemodialysis: results from the DOPPS.

Benefits and risks of antithrombotic agents remain unclear in the hemodialysis population. To help clarify this we determined variation in antithrombotic agent use, rates of major bleeding events, and factors predictive of stroke and bleeding in 48,144 patients in the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS) phases I-IV. Antithrombotic agents including oral anticoagulants (OACs), aspirin (ASA), and anti-platelet agents (APAs) were recorded along with comorbidities at study entry, and clinical events including hospitalization due to bleeding were then collected every 4 months. There was wide variation in OAC (0.3-18%), APA (3-25%), and ASA use (8-36%), and major bleeding rates (0.05-0.22 events/year) among countries. All-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and bleeding events requiring hospitalization were elevated in patients prescribed OACs across adjusted models. The CHADS2 score predicted the risk of stroke in atrial fibrillation patients. Gastrointestinal bleeding in the past 12 months was highly predictive of major bleeding events; for patients with previous gastrointestinal bleeding, the rate of bleeding exceeded the rate of stroke by at least twofold across all categories of CHADS2 score, including patients at high stroke risk. Appropriate risk stratification and a cautious approach should be considered before OAC use in the dialysis population.

Hemodialysis patient preference for type of vascular access: variation and predictors across countries in the DOPPS.

PURPOSE: Catheters are associated with worse clinical outcomes than fistulas and grafts in hemodialysis (HD) patients. One potential modifier of patient vascular access (VA) use is patient preference for a particular VA type. The purpose of this study is to identify predictors of patient VA preference that could be used to improve patient care. METHODS: This study uses a cross-sectional sample of data from the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS 3, 2005-09), that includes 3815 HD patients from 224 facilities in 12 countries. Using multivariable models we measured associations between patient demographic and clinical characteristics, previous catheter use and patient preference for a catheter. RESULTS: Patient preference for a catheter varied across countries, ranging from 1% of HD patients in Japan and 18% in the United States, to 42% to 44% in Belgium and Canada. Preference for a catheter was positively associated with age (adjusted odds ratio per 10 years=1.14; 95% CI=1.02-1.26), female sex (OR 1.49; 95% CI=1.15-1.93), and former (OR=2.61; 95% CI=1.66-4.12) or current catheter use (OR=60.3; 95% CI=36.5-99.8); catheter preference was inversely associated with time on dialysis (OR per three years=0.90; 95% CI=0.82-0.97). CONCLUSIONS: Considerable variation in patient VA preference was observed across countries, suggesting that patient VA preference may be influenced by sociocultural factors and thus could be modifiable. Catheter preference was greatest among current and former catheter users, suggesting that one way to influence patient VA preference may be to avoid catheter use whenever possible.

Impact of sevelamer versus calcium-based binders on hospitalizations and missed in-center dialysis treatments among CKD patients on dialysis: a modeled analysis.

PURPOSE: The avoidance of hospitalizations and the maintenance of in-center dialysis sessions in patients receiving dialysis for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have obvious benefits to patients, dialysis providers and payers. Benefits include better continuity of care, better patient outcomes, improved quality of life, and reduced healthcare expenditures. The objective of this study was to quantify, from the perspective of a dialysis provider in the US, the potential impact of sevelamer versus calcium-based binders (CBBs) on hospitalization days and maintenance of in-center dialysis sessions among hyperphosphatemic dialysis patients. METHODS: A Microsoft Excel-based model was developed to simulate the number of missed dialysis sessions among three hypothetical cohorts of hyperphosphatemic patients treated with either sevelamer or CBBs. The cohorts were characterized by their size to represent a small, mid-size, or large dialysis organization (75, 30,000, and 120,000 patients, respectively). In any given month, a patient in the model could receive dialysis treatments within the center, experience a hospitalization, or die. Treatment-specific monthly survival rates, hospitalization rates, length of stay, and binder dosages were derived from the Dialysis Clinical Outcomes Revisited (DCOR) study. A dialysis schedule of three treatments per week was assumed. Analyses were conducted for a 1-year time horizon. RESULTS: For a small dialysis center, CBBs were associated with an increased number of missed in-center dialysis treatments (447) compared to sevelamer (395). Thus, sevelamer use avoided 52 missed in-center dialysis sessions during 1 year of treatment compared to CBBs. The magnitude of sevelamer's impact on maintaining in-center dialysis treatments increased with the size of the dialysis organization; for a mid-size dialysis organization sevelamer use avoided 20,571 missed in-center dialysis sessions and for a large dialysis organization sevelamer use avoided 82,286 missed in-center dialysis sessions. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of hyperphosphatemic dialysis patients with sevelamer relative to CBBs was associated with a reduction in the number of missed in-center dialysis treatments across small, mid-size, and large dialysis organizations. This reduction could contribute to improved patient outcomes via undisrupted delivery of care within the dialysis clinic. The use of sevelamer versus CBBs could also result in an increased number of reimbursement payments to dialysis clinics and providers by avoiding missed in-center dialysis sessions due to hospitalization.

A modeled economic evaluation of sevelamer for treatment of hyperphosphatemia associated with chronic kidney disease among patients on dialysis in the United Kingdom.

OBJECTIVE: There is limited information regarding the cost-effectiveness of sevelamer for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients on dialysis in the UK. Using a UK National Health Service (NHS) perspective and final results of the Dialysis Clinical Outcomes Revisited (DCOR) study, an evaluation was performed to determine the cost-effectiveness of sevelamer compared to calcium-based phosphate binders for the first-line treatment of hyperphosphatemia in CKD patients on dialysis. METHODS: A Markov model was developed to estimate life years, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), costs, incremental cost per life year (LY) gained, and QALY gained. Treatment-specific overall survival up to 44 months, hospitalizations, and resource utilization were derived from the DCOR study. Survival was extrapolated to a lifetime horizon using Weibull regression analysis. Unit costs and utility estimates specific to the UK were obtained from the published literature. Sub-group analyses were conducted based on data reported from the DCOR study for increasing age cut-points. Outcomes and costs were modeled for a lifetime horizon. RESULTS: In the base case analysis, the use of sevelamer resulted in a gain of ∼0.73 LYs and 0.44 QALYs per patient (discounted at 3.5% per year). Total per-patient costs were higher for sevelamer, resulting in an incremental cost of £22,157 per QALY gained and £13,427 per LY gained (in £2009). Increasingly favorable cost per QALY ratios were observed with increasing age cut-points, ranging from £15,864 for patients ≥45 to £13,296 for patients ≥65 years of age. Results were most sensitive to assumptions regarding overall survival and the inclusion of dialysis costs. Key limitations of the analysis included the use of non-UK trial data for survival and hospitalizations, and the exclusion of quality-of-life impacts associated with hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: In CKD patients receiving dialysis, treatment of hyperphosphatemia with sevelamer offers good value for money compared with calcium-based binders.