Integrating Patient Activation Into Dialysis Care.

Patient activation, the measure of patients' readiness and willingness to manage their own health care, is low among people receiving in-center hemodialysis, which is exacerbated because such centers are commonly set up for patients to passively receive care. In our pursuit of person-centered care and value-based medicine, enabling patients to take a more active role in their care can lead to healthy behaviors, with subsequent reductions in individual burden and costs to the health care system. To improve patient activation, we need to embrace a patient-first approach and combine it with ways to equip patients to thrive with self-management. This requires changes in the training of the health care team as well as changes in care delivery models, promoting interventions such as health coaching and peer mentoring, while leveraging technology to enable self-access to records, self-monitoring, and communication with providers. We also need health care policies that encourage a focus on patient-identified goals, including more attention to patient-reported outcomes. In this article, we review the current status of patient activation in dialysis patients, outline some of the available interventions, and propose steps to change the dynamics of the current system to move toward a more active role for patients in their care.

Outcomes Among Patients With Left Ventricular Assist Devices Receiving Maintenance Outpatient Hemodialysis: A Case Series.

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE: The incidence of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation as destination therapy for heart failure is increasing and kidney failure requiring maintenance hemodialysis is a common complication. Because little is known about the safety or efficacy of outpatient hemodialysis among patients with LVADs, this study sought to describe their clinical course. STUDY DESIGN: Case series of patients with an LVAD undergoing maintenance outpatient hemodialysis whose clinical data were obtained from an electronic medical record. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: Adults who received an LVAD, survived to hospital discharge, and were subsequently treated with maintenance hemodialysis by a not-for-profit dialysis provider between 2011 and 2019. RESULTS: 11 patients were included. 6 had a known history of chronic kidney disease. Patients underwent outpatient hemodialysis for a mean duration of 165.2 (range, 31-542) days, during which they were treated with 544 total dialysis sessions. 6 of these sessions were stopped early due to dialysis-related adverse events (1.1%). More than 80% of follow-up time was spent out of the hospital; however, 55% of patients were rehospitalized within 1 month of starting outpatient hemodialysis. The most common reason for hospitalization was infection (32%), followed by hypervolemia (14%), and cerebrovascular accident or transient ischemic attack (11%). 4 patients recovered kidney function, 1 underwent combined heart and kidney transplantation, 2 continued treatment, 2 died, and 2 were lost to follow-up. LIMITATIONS: Retrospective design, small number of cases, and lack of complete follow-up data. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately half the patients with complete follow-up either recovered kidney function or underwent combined heart and kidney transplantation. This case series demonstrates that outpatient hemodialysis centers, in partnership with LVAD treatment teams, can successfully provide hemodialysis to patients on LVAD support.

The use of virtual physician mentoring to enhance home dialysis knowledge and uptake.

Home dialysis therapies are flexible kidney replacement strategies with documented clinical benefits. While the incidence of end-stage kidney disease continues to increase globally, the use of home dialysis remains low in most developed countries. Multiple barriers to providing home dialysis have been noted in the published literature. Among known challenges, gaps in clinician knowledge are potentially addressable with a focused education strategy. Recent national surveys in the United States and Australia have highlighted the need for enhanced home dialysis knowledge especially among nephrologists who have recently completed training. Traditional in-person continuing professional educational programmes have had modest success in promoting home dialysis and are limited by scale and the present global COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesize that the use of a 'Hub and Spoke' model of virtual home dialysis mentorship for nephrologists based on project ECHO would support home dialysis growth. We review the home dialysis literature, known educational gaps and plausible educational interventions to address current limitations in physician education.

Public policy and programs - Missing links in growing home dialysis in the United States.

Patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) require dialysis or a kidney transplant for survival and over 760 000 patients now benefit from these therapies in the United States. Dialysis in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s was often done in the home. After the advent of Medicare coverage for ESKD in 1972 and the subsequent easier access to center based hemodialysis, the use of home modalities dramatically declined. This stands in contrast to home dialysis uptake in other industrialized healthcare systems where both peritoneal dialysis and home hemodialysis are more frequently used. Characteristics unique to the US healthcare system as well as the cultures of providers (physicians and dialysis providers) and recipients of ESKD care are hypothesized as the main reasons for observed differences in home dialysis use. To address these issues, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have recently proposed new payment programs under an Executive Order from the President of the United States, with the explicit goal of increasing the number of patients using home dialysis. This perspective outlines policy opportunities and programs with a proven track record of home dialysis growth in other countries or hypothesized promise based on identified barriers and needs.

The Peritoneal Dialysis Transfer Set Replacement Procedure.

Peritoneal dialysis transfer sets (extension lines) are replaced every six to nine months to minimize peritoneal dialysis catheter complications. The aim of this study was to compare a revised non-bag transfer set exchange procedure with the standard bag exchange procedure on nursing time, costs, and safety. Thirty-three people were randomized to two groups - a standard bag exchange procedure group (n = 16) and a non-bag transfer set exchange procedure group (n = 17). The standard bag exchange procedure took a median of 32 minutes (interquartile range [IQR] 25 to 38 minutes) compared to the non-bag transfer set exchange procedure of 6 minutes (IQR 4 to 8 minutes) (p Ò 0.0001). There was one episode of peritonitis in each group within the 72-hour follow-up period. The average cost of the non-bag transfer set exchange procedure was $24.54 lower, a 37% cost reduction. This study has shown the revised non-bag transfer set replacement procedure appears to be safe, consume less participant and staff time, and decreases costs.

Improving Incident ESRD Care Via a Transitional Care Unit.

Dialysis care in the United States continues to move toward an emphasis on continuous quality improvement and performance benchmarking. Government- and industry-sponsored programs have evolved to assess and incentivize outcomes for many components of end-stage renal disease care. One aspect that remains largely unaddressed at a systemic level is the high-risk transition period from chronic kidney disease and acute kidney injury to permanent dialysis dependence. Incident dialysis patients experience disproportionately high mortality and hospitalization rates coupled with high costs. This article reviews the clinical case for a special emphasis on this transition period, reviews published literature regarding prior transitional care programs, and proposes a novel iteration of the first 30 days of dialysis care: the transitional care unit (TCU). The goal of a TCU is to improve awareness of all aspects of renal replacement therapy, including modalities, access, transplantation options, and nutritional and psychosocial aspects of the disease. This enables patients to make truly informed decisions regarding their care. The TCU model is open to all patients, including incident patients with end-stage renal disease, those for whom peritoneal dialysis is failing, or those with failing transplants. This model may be especially beneficial to those who are deemed inadequately prepared or "crash start" patients.

Transitional dialysis care units: A new approach to increase home dialysis modality uptake and patient outcomes.

Home hemodialysis (HHD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) are associated with better clinical outcomes, lower hospitalization rates, and improved quality of life compared with conventional in-center hemodialysis. However, <12% of patients requiring dialysis therapy use HHD or PD in the United States, even though over 90% of nephrologists would choose home-based dialysis modalities for themselves. Inadequate patient education and decision-making support are key barriers to patients choosing home-based therapy. Likewise, there are key challenges for dialysis providers, including development and optimal delivery of education materials, appropriate staffing, and training. The Satellite Healthcare Optimal Transitions (OT) Program was developed to provide education and decision support to patients during the transitional period. OT provides in-depth education in all dialysis modalities at the start of dialysis over a flexible time period (1-4 weeks, adapted for various learning curves) to allow for time to physical stabilization, self-care training, and modality choice based on each patient's individual life motivations, goals, and environments. OT may provide value to patients and providers by providing comprehensive support for dialysis modality selection, resulting in increased patient confidence to execute home dialysis with the potential for improved patient outcomes, and reduced hospitalizations.

Improving wellbeing in patients undergoing dialysis: Can meditation help?

Coping with the stress and anxiety caused by end stage kidney disease (ESKD) symptoms, treatment, restrictions, and social, financial and family stressors, consumes many afflicted with kidney disease. Meditation has been shown to decrease anxiety and stress, and improve wellbeing and quality of life of people with chronic disease. However, the clinical uptake of meditation is low in the ESKD dialysis population. This review describes what meditation and mindful meditation are and how they have been used for people with ESKD. Further research, using active control conditions and larger sample size, is required to identify effective meditation interventions that can improve the wellbeing of our patients and their ability to cope with the demands of ESKD.

Patient-to-patient peer mentor support in dialysis: Improving the patient experience.

Greater focus on patient-reported outcome measures for dialysis patients and an increased patient engagement focus has highlighted a lack of formal patient-generated strategies. Patient-to-patient peer mentoring is one approach that may improve the outcomes for people receiving dialysis. This review aims to synthesize quantitative and qualitative studies investigating dialysis-associated patient-to-patient peer mentor support among adults with chronic kidney disease and end stage kidney disease. Research studies describe the benefits of peer mentor programs in dialysis to include: improved goal setting, decision-making and increased self-management. While a variety of program formats exist, a combination of face-to-face and telephone peer support models are recommended and formal training of mentors is required. In addition, the formal support of dialysis clinicians, nephrologists and administrators is vital for the success of a dialysis patient-to-patient peer mentor program.

Higher Ultrafiltration Rate Is Associated with Longer Dialysis Recovery Time in Patients Undergoing Conventional Hemodialysis.

BACKGROUND: Increased mortality and morbidity are reported in association with high ultrafiltration rate (UFR) and with long dialysis recovery time (DRT). We studied the association between UFR and DRT. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional, observational study was conducted. Patients on thrice-weekly hemodialysis (HD) with self-reported DRT between August and December 2014 were included. We examined the association of 30-day average UFR with recovery time. RESULTS: The total number of patients included in this study was 2,689. DRT in categories of immediate recovery, >0-≤2, >2-≤6, >6-≤12, and >12 h, were reported in 27, 28, 17, 9, and 20% of the patients respectively. In multivariable analysis, longer DRT was associated with female gender, non-black race, higher body weight, lower serum albumin, chronic heart failure, cerebrovascular disease, missed dialysis sessions, higher pre-dialysis systolic blood pressure, and larger UF volume. Compared to UFR of <10, UFR ≥13 mL/kg/h was associated with longer DRT, OR of 1.16 (95% CI 0.99-1.36), and 1.28 (95% CI 1.06-1.54) in the unadjusted and the adjusted analyses respectively. Intradialytic hypotension was also associated with longer DRT in the unadjusted (per 10% higher frequency, OR 1.04 [95% CI 1.01-1.07]) and adjusted analyses (OR 1.03 [95% CI 1.00-1.07]). CONCLUSION: Long recovery time is common after HD. Rapid fluid removal is associated with longer DRT.

Dialysate sodium and intradialytic hypotension.

Intradialytic hypotension (IDH) is a common complication in hemodialysis, particularly with the time and frequency constraints of standard session delivery in contemporary practice. High intradialytic weight gain (IDWG), high ultrafiltration rates (UFR), and frequent IDH are highly interlinked, and separately or together contribute to the high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality observed in the hemodialysis population. Using a lower concentration of sodium in the dialysate (D-Na) reduces sodium delivery to the patient during dialysis, and several studies reported the beneficial effect in controlling IDWG, UFR, and hypertension. On the other hand, high dialysate sodium is associated with more hemodynamic benefits in an unstable patient. The resulting sodium loading may, however, induce a vicious cycle of higher IDWG, requiring more rapid ultrafiltration, eventually contributing to intradialytic symptoms and hypotension. In this article, we review the available literature on fixed and profiled dialysate sodium prescriptions, and we recommend a tailored approach that considers the patient's status to optimize dialysis delivery.

Metabolic Profiling of Impaired Cognitive Function in Patients Receiving Dialysis.

Retention of uremic metabolites is a proposed cause of cognitive impairment in patients with ESRD. We used metabolic profiling to identify and validate uremic metabolites associated with impairment in executive function in two cohorts of patients receiving maintenance dialysis. We performed metabolic profiling using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry applied to predialysis plasma samples from a discovery cohort of 141 patients and an independent replication cohort of 180 patients participating in a trial of frequent hemodialysis. We assessed executive function with the Trail Making Test Part B and the Digit Symbol Substitution test. Impaired executive function was defined as a score ≥2 SDs below normative values. Four metabolites-4-hydroxyphenylacetate, phenylacetylglutamine, hippurate, and prolyl-hydroxyproline-were associated with impaired executive function at the false-detection rate significance threshold. After adjustment for demographic and clinical characteristics, the associations remained statistically significant: relative risk 1.16 (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.03 to 1.32), 1.39 (95% CI, 1.13 to 1.71), 1.24 (95% CI, 1.03 to 1.50), and 1.20 (95% CI, 1.05 to 1.38) for each SD increase in 4-hydroxyphenylacetate, phenylacetylglutamine, hippurate, and prolyl-hydroxyproline, respectively. The association between 4-hydroxyphenylacetate and impaired executive function was replicated in the second cohort (relative risk 1.12; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.23), whereas the associations for phenylacetylglutamine, hippurate, and prolyl-hydroxyproline did not reach statistical significance in this cohort. In summary, four metabolites related to phenylalanine, benzoate, and glutamate metabolism may be markers of cognitive impairment in patients receiving maintenance dialysis.

Peginesatide in patients with anemia undergoing hemodialysis.

BACKGROUND: Peginesatide, a synthetic peptide-based erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA), is a potential therapy for anemia in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease. METHODS: We conducted two randomized, controlled, open-label studies (EMERALD 1 and EMERALD 2) involving patients undergoing hemodialysis. Cardiovascular safety was evaluated by analysis of an adjudicated composite safety end point--death from any cause, stroke, myocardial infarction, or serious adverse events of congestive heart failure, unstable angina, or arrhythmia--with the use of pooled data from the two EMERALD studies and two studies involving patients not undergoing dialysis. In the EMERALD studies, 1608 patients received peginesatide once monthly or continued to receive epoetin one to three times a week, with the doses adjusted as necessary to maintain a hemoglobin level between 10.0 and 12.0 g per deciliter for 52 weeks or more. The primary efficacy end point was the mean change from the baseline hemoglobin level to the mean level during the evaluation period; noninferiority was established if the lower limit of the two-sided 95% confidence interval was -1.0 g per deciliter or higher in the comparison of peginesatide with epoetin. The aim of evaluating the composite safety end point in the pooled cohort was to exclude a hazard ratio with peginesatide relative to the comparator ESA of more than 1.3. RESULTS: In an analysis involving 693 patients from EMERALD 1 and 725 from EMERALD 2, peginesatide was noninferior to epoetin in maintaining hemoglobin levels (mean between-group difference, -0.15 g per deciliter; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.30 to -0.01 in EMERALD 1; and 0.10 g per deciliter; 95% CI, -0.05 to 0.26 in EMERALD 2). The hazard ratio for the composite safety end point was 1.06 (95% CI, 0.89 to 1.26) with peginesatide relative to the comparator ESA in the four pooled studies (2591 patients) and 0.95 (95% CI, 0.77 to 1.17) in the EMERALD studies. The proportions of patients with adverse and serious adverse events were similar in the treatment groups in the EMERALD studies. The cardiovascular safety of peginesatide was similar to that of the comparator ESA in the pooled cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Peginesatide, administered monthly, was as effective as epoetin, administered one to three times per week, in maintaining hemoglobin levels in patients undergoing hemodialysis. (Funded by Affymax and Takeda Pharmaceutical; ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT00597753 [EMERALD 1], NCT00597584 [EMERALD 2], NCT00598273 [PEARL 1], and NCT00598442 [PEARL 2].).

A survey of views and practice patterns of dialysis medical directors toward end-of-life decision making for patients with end-stage renal disease.

BACKGROUND: Patients with end-stage renal disease report infrequent end-of-life discussions, and nephrology trainees report feeling unprepared for end-of-life decision making, but the views of dialysis medical directors have not been studied. AIM: Our objective is to understand dialysis medical directors' views and practice patterns on end-of-life decision making for patients with ESRD. DESIGN: We administered questionnaires to dialysis medical directors during medical director meetings of three different dialysis organizations in 2013. Survey questions corresponded to recommendations from the Renal Physicians Association clinical practice guidelines on initiation and withdrawal of dialysis. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: There were 121 medical director respondents from 28 states. RESULTS: The majority of respondents felt "very prepared" (66%) or "somewhat prepared" (29%) to participate in end-of-life decisions and most (80%) endorsed a model of shared decision making. If asked to do so, 70% of the respondents provided prognostic information "often" or "nearly always." For patients with a poor prognosis, 36% of respondents would offer a time-limited trial of dialysis "often" or "nearly always", while 56% of respondents would suggest withdrawal from dialysis "often" or "nearly always" for those with a poor prognosis currently receiving dialysis therapy. Patient resistance and fear of taking away hope were the most commonly cited barriers to end-of-life discussions. CONCLUSION: Views and reported practice patterns of medical directors are consistent with clinical practice guidelines for end-of-life decision making for patients with end-stage renal disease but inconsistent with patient perceptions.

Dialysate Sodium: Choosing the Optimal Hemodialysis Bath.

Fluid overload in patients undergoing hemodialysis contributes to cardiovascular morbidity and is a major cause of hospitalizations. It is often addressed by reinforcing the importance of a low-salt diet with patients and challenging estimated dry weights. More recently, interest has shifted toward the dialysate sodium prescription as a strategy to improve fluid overload and its adverse sequelae. The availability of high-flux high-efficiency dialysis in conjunction with the need to ensure its tolerability for patients has resulted in an increase in dialysate sodium prescriptions from 120 to ≥140 mEq/L. However, we are now tackling the unforeseen consequences associated with high dialysate sodium prescriptions. High dialysate sodium concentration is associated with high interdialytic weight gain, a commonly used surrogate for hypervolemia contributing to hypertension. The association between mortality and high dialysate sodium concentration remains controversial with conflicting data. It is clear that fluid management in the diverse end-stage renal disease population is extremely complex and more clinical trials are needed. In the meantime, while patients require treatments and clinical decisions need to be made, this review article attempts to summarize the current evidence for individualized dialysate sodium prescriptions based on patients' volume status, comorbid conditions, plasma sodium level, and hemodynamic response to dialysis therapy.

Navigating toward research success in times of uncertainty: funding opportunities for early career investigators in nephrology.

There is considerable concern within the nephrology community about recent federal budget cuts and the decreasing availability of funds for research. This is especially difficult for junior investigators who are about to start a career as physician-scientists. Accordingly, it is imperative that resources other than federal funds be made available to these individuals during this most delicate yet crucial transition period. This commentary aims to provide an overview of nonfederal funding resources, focusing on the Norman S. Coplon Extramural Grant Program. This program emphasizes support of investigators at the most fragile period in their development of an academic career; it has provided >$11 million of research funds to more than 80 individuals since 2000. The outcome has been stellar, with more than 130 publications originating from these projects and >90% of awardees staying in academia. We hope these accomplishments will encourage similar activities by other entities and scientific programs in addition to ones that are ongoing. Ultimately, these collective efforts will inspire young researchers to use their knowledge, passion, and dedication to advance research into kidney diseases.

The chronic disease self-management program--A pilot study in patients undergoing hemodialysis.

A strong emphasis on self-management for health maintenance in a variety of chronic diseases has been shown to benefit patients' outcomes and quality of life. However, little has been published on such programs in patients with chronic kidney disease. We studied the feasibility and effectiveness of the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) in 14 patients with ESRD undergoing conventional hemodialysis. This program is designed to enhance skills in the areas of medical, emotional, and role management. Outcome measures in health status, self-management behaviors, self-efficacy, and health care utilization were evaluated through use of questionnaires at baseline and after six months.

Improving clinical outcomes among hemodialysis patients: a proposal for a "volume first" approach from the chief medical officers of US dialysis providers.

Addressing fluid intake and volume control requires alignment and coordination of patients, providers, dialysis facilities, and payers, potentially necessitating a "Volume First" approach. This article reports the consensus opinions achieved at the March 2013 symposium of the Chief Medical Officers of 14 of the largest dialysis providers in the United States. These opinions are based on broad experience among participants, but often reinforced by only observational and frequently retrospective studies, highlighting the lack of high-quality clinical trials in nephrology. Given the high morbidity and mortality rates among dialysis patients and the absence of sufficient trial data to guide most aspects of hemodialysis therapy, participants believed that immediate attempts to improve care based on quality improvement initiatives, physiologic principles, and clinical experiences are warranted until such time as rigorous clinical trial data become available. The following overarching consensus opinions emerged. (1) Extracellular fluid status should be a component of sufficient dialysis, such that approaching normalization of extracellular fluid volume should be a primary goal of dialysis care. (2) Fluid removal should be gradual and dialysis treatment duration should not routinely be less than 4 hours without justification based on individual patient factors. (3) Intradialytic sodium loading should be avoided by incorporating dialysate sodium concentrations set routinely in the range of 134-138 mEq/L, avoidance of routine use of sodium modeling, and avoidance of hypertonic saline solution. (4) Dietary counseling should emphasize sodium avoidance.