Factors influencing renal replacement therapy modality choice from the nephrologist's perspective.

BACKGROUND: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) offers quality of life and empowerment for persons with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Nevertheless, the prevalence of PD is low in Belgium and Europe in general. Reimbursement, patient mix and late referral have been quoted as underlying reasons. However, to date no one-size-fits-all solution increasing uptake of PD has been successfully implemented. We aimed to understand the nephrologist's perspective, beliefs, and experiences on dialysis modality selection and to clarify underlying process-level and intrinsic motivations steering final decisions. METHODS: Using purposeful sampling, Belgian nephrologists (non-/academic, geographical spread, age, gender) were selected. We conducted semi-structured interviews, and audiotapes were transcribed verbatim. Meaningful units were grouped into (sub-)themes, and a conceptual framework was developed using grounded theory according to Charmaz as guidance. RESULTS: Twenty-nine nephrologists were interviewed. We identified four themes: Trust and belief (in PD as a technique; own expertise, knowledge and team; in behavior of patient, family practitioner), feeling of control (paternalism; insecurity; prejudice), vision of care and approach (shared decision making; troubleshooting attitude; flexibility and creativity; complacency), and organizational issues (predialysis; access; financial; and assisted PD). CONCLUSIONS: Based on these interviews, it is apparent that next to already identified singular issues such as late referral, predialysis education, patient mix and financial incentives, more intrinsic factors also impact uptake of home-based therapies. These factors intertwine and relate both to process-level topics and to attitudes and culture of the nephrologists within the team.

Occurrence of Fatal Tubulopathy in an Old, Fit Patient Receiving Nivolumab and Ipilimumab for Metastatic Melanoma: A Case Report.

Introduction: The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors has revolutionized cancer treatment, and their application to older people is considered safe by the scientific community. However, immune-related adverse events (irAEs) remain common, and their management poses significant challenges, especially in this population. Case Presentation: We report the case of a fit 82-year-old woman who developed immune-mediated colitis and Fanconi syndrome during treatment with ipilimumab and nivolumab for metastatic melanoma. Treatment consisted of discontinuation of immunotherapy, use of systemic corticosteroids, and second-line immunosuppressants. Despite well-managed treatment, the patient did not recover and died from a gastrointestinal infection. Conclusion: Although studies have shown identical efficacy and safety in younger patients compared to older patients, the consequences of irAEs can potentially be more serious in the older population. The fatal outcome despite well-managed treatment highlights the need to identify predictive factors of immunotherapy-related adverse events in the older population.

From transfer to transition: review and proposition of the SFNDT dialysis Commission / Du transfert à la transition : mise au point et proposition de la Commission de dialyse de la SFNDT

Over the course of their disease, patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) will be treated by several kidney replacement therapy (KRT) modalities. The transitions between KRT modalities can be experienced as traumatic by patients, and are associated with an increased morbidity and mortality, notably when they are not anticipated. Planning these transition phases could reduce the psychological trauma induced by the transfer, as well as reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality. However, the lack of a clear definition of a transfer, and the lack of criteria enabling the identification of patients at risk of transfer, prevents the anticipation of these transition phases at high risk for patients. We here discuss the various possible causes and risk factors of transfer from peritoneal dialysis (PD) to hemodialysis as well as transfer from hemodialysis to PD. The dialysis Commission of the Société francophone de néphrologie, dialyse et transplantation (SFNDT) makes some proposals to improve transition phases, such as the identification of patients at risk, specific PD programs for unplanned PD start, transition unit and hybrid therapy.

Dans le parcours de soins du patient insuffisant rénal chronique, les différentes modalités de suppléance rénale vont se succéder dans le temps créant ainsi des phases de transition. Ces phases de transition peuvent être vécues comme traumatisantes par les patients, et sont associées à une augmentation de la morbi-mortalité, particulièrement lorsqu'elles ne sont pas suffisamment anticipées. La planification de ces phases de transition par l'équipe de dialyse devrait permettre de diminuer l'expérience du traumatisme psychologique induit par le changement et de réduire le risque de sur-morbi-mortalité. Cependant, l'absence de définition standardisée de la phase de transition entre modalités, le manque de critères et d'outils identifiant les patients à risque de transfert et l'absence d'infrastructures dédiées à ces patients transitionnels sont autant de facteurs limitant l'anticipation de ces phases de transition. Nous abordons ici les différentes causes et possibles facteurs de risque du transfert de la dialyse péritonéale (DP) vers l'hémodialyse ainsi que du transfert de l'hémodialyse vers la DP. Dans cette mise au point, la Commission de dialyse de la Société francophone de néphrologie, dialyse et transplantation (SFNDT) émet certaines propositions pour améliorer la définition et la prise en charge de ces phases de transition, et propose des outils d'identification des sujets « transitionnels ¼ ainsi que des exemples structurels de programmes soutenant la transition, tels que le démarrage en urgence de la DP, l'unité transitionnelle et la dialyse hybride.

Assisted peritoneal dialysis across Europe: Practice variation and factors associated with availability.

BACKGROUND: In Europe, the number of elderly end-stage kidney disease patients is increasing. Few of those patients receive peritoneal dialysis (PD), as many cannot perform PD autonomously. Assisted PD programmes are available in most European countries, but the percentage of patients receiving assisted PD varies considerably. Hence, we assessed which factors are associated with the availability of an assisted PD programme at a centre level and whether the availability of this programme is associated with proportion of home dialysis patients. METHODS: An online survey was sent to healthcare professionals of European nephrology units. After selecting one respondent per centre, the associations were explored by χ2 tests and (ordinal) logistic regression. RESULTS: In total, 609 respondents completed the survey. Subsequently, 288 respondents from individual centres were identified; 58% worked in a centre with an assisted PD programme. Factors associated with availability of an assisted PD programme were Western European and Scandinavian countries (OR: 5.73; 95% CI: 3.07-10.68), non-academic centres (OR: 2.01; 95% CI: 1.09-3.72) and centres with a dedicated team for education (OR: 2.87; 95% CI: 1.35-6.11). Most Eastern & Central European respondents reported that the proportion of incident and prevalent home dialysis patients was <10% (72% and 63%), while 27% of Scandinavian respondents reported a proportion of >30% for both incident and prevalent home dialysis patients. Availability of an assisted PD programme was associated with a higher incidence (cumulative OR: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.21-3.01) and prevalence (cumulative OR: 2.81; 95% CI: 1.76-4.47) of patients on home dialysis. CONCLUSIONS: Assisted PD was more commonly offered among non-academic centres with a dedicated team for education across Europe, especially among Western European and Scandinavian countries where higher incidence and prevalence of home dialysis patients was reported.

Barriers and opportunities to increase PD incidence and prevalence: Lessons from a European Survey.

INTRODUCTION: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) remains underutilised and unplanned start of dialysis further diminishes the likelihood of patients starting on PD, although outcomes are equal to haemodialysis (HD). METHODS: A survey was sent to members of EuroPD and regional societies presenting a case vignette of a 48-year-old woman not previously known to the nephrology department and who arrives at the emergency department with established end-stage kidney disease (unplanned start), asking which dialysis modality would most likely be chosen at their respective centre. We assessed associations between the modality choices for this case vignette and centre characteristics and PD-related practices. RESULTS: Of 575 respondents, 32.8%, 32.2% and 35.0% indicated they would start unplanned PD, unplanned HD or unplanned HD with intention to educate patient on PD later, respectively. Likelihood for unplanned start of PD was only associated with quality of structure of the pre-dialysis program. Structure of pre-dialysis education program, PD program in general, likelihood to provide education on PD to unplanned starters, good collaboration with the PD access team and taking initiatives to enhance home-based therapies increased the likelihood unplanned patients would end up on PD. CONCLUSIONS: Well-structured pre-dialysis education on PD as a modality, good connections to dedicated PD catheter placement teams and additional initiatives to enhance home-based therapies are key to grow PD programs. Centres motivated to grow their PD programs seem to find solutions to do so.

A Large Intraperitoneal Residual Volume Hampers Adequate Volumetric Assessment of Osmotic Conductance to Glucose.

BACKGROUND: In end-stage renal disease patients treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD), the osmotic conductance to glucose (OCG) represents the intrinsic ability of the membrane to transport water in response to a crystalloid osmotic gradient. A progressive loss of OCG in long-term PD patients indicates the development of fibrosis in the peritoneal interstitium, and helps identify patients at risk for encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis. The double mini-peritoneal equilibration test (PET) has been proposed as a simple method to assess OCG using the difference in initial ultrafiltration rates generated by 2 successive dwells using 1.36% and 3.86% glucose-based, 1-h PET. However, the presence of a large peritoneal residual volume (RV) may potentially interfere with the correct evaluation of drained volumes, limiting the reliability of OCG assessed by the double mini-PET. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed data from 53 peritoneal function tests in 35 consecutive PD patients starting PD at our center between March 2013 and March 2017. The test consisted of a uni-PET (double mini-PET combined with a 3.86%, 4-h PET) performed at PD start, then yearly. In addition to peritoneal solute transport rate and net ultrafiltration, the tests provided information about osmotic water transport (OCG, sodium sieving, and free-water transport) as well as the RV estimated from albumin dilution. RESULTS: Contrary to sodium sieving, net ultrafiltration, and free-water transport, OCG did not correlate with any of the other parameters of osmotic water transport. In multivariate regression analyses, the RV was identified as the only determinant of OCG, while it did not alter the robust association between sodium sieving/free-water transport and their respective determinants. Considering only baseline tests or the whole series of tests, the presence of a large intraperitoneal RV was associated with discrepant values between OCG and sodium sieving, and with an artificial increase in OCG. CONCLUSIONS: A large RV leads to significant overestimation of OCG using the double mini-PET, potentially reducing the ability of OCG to identify patients with progressive fibrosis in the peritoneal interstitium. On the other hand, sieving of the dialysate sodium, a biochemical surrogate for OCG, is independent of the RV and may therefore be more reliable. A call for caution is warranted in patients with a large RV to avoid misinterpretation of OCG values derived from the double mini-PET.