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Background: Home dialysis patients may be at an increased risk of adverse events after transitional states. The home dialysis virtual ward (HDVW) trial was conducted in Canadian dialysis centers and aimed to evaluate potential care gaps and patient satisfaction during the HDVW., Methods: The HDVW was a multicenter single-arm trial including peritoneal dialysis and home hemodialysis patients after 4 different events (hospital discharge, medical procedure, antibiotics, completion of training). Telephone-led interviews using a standardized assessment tool were performed over a 2-week period to assess a patient's care and adjust treatment as required. Upon completion, patients were surveyed to evaluate their perceived impact on domains of care using a rating scale; 1 not satisfied to 10 completely satisfied., Results: The HDVW trial included 193 patients with a median number of potential care gaps/interventions of 1 (0-2) per patient. Patients admitted to the HDVW after hospital discharge were at a higher risk of potential gaps in care (OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.29-3.62), while longer dialysis vintage was -associated with a lower number of gaps/interventions (OR 0.97 per year, 95% CI 0.95-0.98). A total of 105/193 (54%) patients completed satisfaction surveys. Patients were highly satisfied with the HDVW (median rating scale score 8, IQR 2) and felt it had a positive impact (rating scale score ≥7) on their overall health, understanding of treatment and access to a nephrologist., Conclusion: The HDVW was effective at identifying several potential care gaps, and patients were satisfied across several domains of care. This intervention may be valuable in supporting home dialysis patients during care transitions., (© 2019 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Unlabelled: ♦, Background: Implantation of the peritoneal dialysis catheter (PDC), usually an elective procedure, may necessitate unexpected hospitalization and even transfer to intensive care due to the multiple comorbidities and inherent instability of the end-stage renal disease patient. Information on hospitalization after PDC implantation is limited and details about the reason for hospitalization are lacking. ♦, Methods: We performed a cohort study in consecutive patients who underwent PDC implantation at a single institution from September 2007 to September 2013. Clinical characteristics of enrolled patients, technique of the implantation procedure, and all-cause unexpected hospitalization and morbidity within 14 days after implantation were analyzed. ♦, Results: Excluding the patients with pre-arranged admission, a total of 246 patients receiving 252 PDC implantations during the 6 years were studied. After 39 procedures (15.5%), patients had an unexpected hospital stay or re-admission due to operative complications (33.3%), worsening of disease (35.9%), or a single-night hospital stay for observation (30.8%). Compared with discharged patients, the patients with unexpected hospitalization were older (p = 0.001), experienced higher rates of previous episodes of heart failure (p = 0.006) and heart disease (p < 0.001), had more use of general anesthesia (GA) (p = 0.046), underwent more added procedures during the implantation (p = 0.02), and had more episodes of flow obstruction and peritonitis after implantation (p = 0.012 and p < 0.001, respectively). Using a multivariable logistic regression, we showed that age, cardiac morbidity, use of general anesthesia, PDC flow problems and peritonitis after implantation were independent predictors of all-cause unexpected hospitalization. ♦, Conclusions: For the first time, our study analyzed the predictors of unplanned hospitalization after PDC implantation and identified the salient risk factors. Increased focus to identify patients at greatest risk for hospitalization, evaluation of processes of care, and implementation of preventive strategies may be helpful to reduce unplanned hospitalization after catheter insertion., (Copyright © 2016 International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis.)

Background: A significant proportion of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients receive an initial period of hemodialysis (HD) before transitioning to PD ("PD-switch"). We sought to better understand the risks of PD technique failure (TF) and mortality for those patients compared with patients starting with PD as their first dialysis modality ("PD-first")., Methods: Using Canadian Organ Replacement Register data, we compared the risk of PD TF between PD-first and PD-switch patients within the first year after HD initiation. In a secondary analysis, the PD-switch patients were stratified into three groups based on timing of the switch from initial HD to PD as follows: 0 - 90 days, 91 - 180 days, and 181 - 365 days. Each group was compared with PD-first patients for risk of PD TF and death., Results: Between 2001 and 2010, 9404 patients initiated PD as their first renal replacement therapy, and 3757 switched from HD to PD. After multivariable adjustment, the risk of PD TF was higher among PD-switch patients than among PD-first patients [adjusted hazard ratio (AHR): 1.37; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.26 to 1.49], particularly within the first year after the switch from HD to PD (AHR: 1.51; 95% CI: 1.36 to 1.68). There was no association between time on HD within the first year and subsequent risk of PD TF. For all the stratified PD-switch groups, death rates were higher than those for PD-first patients., Conclusions: Compared with patients who start renal replacement therapy with PD, those who transfer from HD to PD within the first year on dialysis experience higher rates of PD TF and death, with the highest risk being observed in the initial year after the switch to PD., (Copyright © 2015 International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis.)

Background: Home-based renal replacement therapy (RRT) [peritoneal dialysis (PD) and home hemodialysis (HHD)] offers independent quality of life and clinical advantages compared to conventional in-center hemodialysis. However, follow-up may be less complete for home dialysis patients following a change in care settings such as post hospitalization. We aim to implement a Home Dialysis Virtual Ward (HDVW) strategy, which is targeted to minimize gaps of care., Methods/design: The HDVW Pilot Study will enroll consecutive PD and HHD patients who fulfilled any one of our inclusion criteria: 1. following discharge from hospital, 2. after interventional procedure(s), 3. prescription of anti-microbial agents, or 4. following completion of home dialysis training. Clinician-led telephone interviews are performed weekly for 2 weeks until VW discharge. Case-mix (modified Charlson Comorbidity Index), symptoms (the modified Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale) and patient satisfaction are assessed serially. The number of VW interventions relating to eight pre-specified domains will be measured. Adverse events such as re-hospitalization and health-services utilization will be ascertained through telephone follow-up after discharge from the VW at 2, 4, 12 weeks. The VW re-hospitalization rate will be compared with a contemporary cohort (matched for age, gender, renal replacement therapy and co-morbidities). Our protocol has been approved by research ethics board (UHN: 12-5397-AE). Written informed consent for participation in the study will be obtained from participants., Discussion: This report serves as a blueprint for the design and implementation of a novel health service delivery model for home dialysis patients. The major goal of the HDVW initiative is to provide appropriate and effective supports to medically complex patients in a targeted window of vulnerability., Trial Registration: (NCT01912001).

Background and Objectives: In the last 15 years in Canada, there have been less stringent guidelines for peritoneal dialysis (PD) adequacy, availability of novel PD solutions, and lower PD-related peritonitis rates. Effects of these changes on outcomes of incident patients treated with PD during this period are unknown., Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: Risk of PD technique failure and mortality were compared among three incident cohorts of PD patients who initiated dialysis during the following periods: 1995-2000, 2001-2005, and 2006-2009. A multivariable model was used to evaluate time to PD technique failure using inverse probability of treatment and censoring weights accounting for changing survival and transplantation rates., Results: Between 1995 and 2009,13,120 incident adult PD patients were identified from the Canadian Organ Replacement Register. Compared with the 1995-2000 cohort (n=5183), the risk of PD technique failure was lower among patients between 2001 and 2005 (n=4316) but similar among incident patients between 2006 and 2009 (n=3621). Cause-specific PD technique failure revealed no difference in PD peritonitis-related technique failure over time. PD technique failure due to inadequate PD was initially higher in the 2001-2005 cohort but lower in the 2006-2009 cohort compared with the 1995-2000 cohort. Relative to incident patients between 1995 and 2000, adjusted mortality was lower among incident patients between 2001 and 2005 and 2006 and 2009., Conclusions: Survival on PD continues to improve with only modest changes in PD technique failure. Peritonitis remains an ongoing and modifiable source of PD technique failure.

Several comparisons of peritoneal dialysis (PD) and hemodialysis (HD) in incident patients with ESRD demonstrate superior survival in PD-treated patients within the first 1 to 2 years. These survival differences may be due to higher HD-related mortality as a result of high rates of incident central venous catheter (CVC) use or due to an initial survival advantage conferred by PD. We compared the survival of incident PD patients with those who initiated HD with a CVC (HD-CVC) or with a functional arteriovenous fistula or arteriovenous graft (HD-AVF/AVG). We used multivariable piece-wise exponential nonproportional and proportional hazards models to evaluate early (1 year) mortality as well as overall mortality during the period of observation using an intention-to-treat approach. We identified 40,526 incident adult dialysis patients from the Canadian Organ Replacement Register (2001 to 2008). Compared with the 7412 PD patients, 1-year mortality was similar for the 6663 HD-AVF/AVG patients but was 80% higher for the 24,437 HD-CVC patients (adjusted HR, 1.8; 95% confidence intervals [CI], 1.6 to 1.9). During the entire period of follow-up, HD-AVF/AVG patients had a lower risk for death, and HD-CVC patients had a higher risk for death compared with patients on PD. In conclusion, the use of CVCs in incident HD patients largely accounts for the early survival benefit seen with PD.

Background and Objectives: An increasing number of patients are returning to dialysis after allograft loss (DAGL). These patients are at a higher mortality risk compared with incident ESRD patients. Among transplant-naïve patients, those treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD) enjoy an early survival advantage compared with those treated with hemodialysis (HD), but this advantage is not sustained over time. Whether a similar time-dependent survival advantage exists for PD-treated patients after allograft loss is unclear and may impact dialysis modality selection in these patients., Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: We identified 2110 adult patients who initiated dialysis after renal transplant failure between January 1991 and December 2005 from The Canadian Organ Replacement Register. Multivariable regression analysis was used to evaluate the impact of initial dialysis modality on early (2 years), late (after 2 years), and overall mortality using an intention-to-treat approach., Results: After adjustment, there was no difference in overall survival between HD- and PD-treated patients (hazard ratio((HD:PD)), 1.05; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 1.31), with similar results seen for both early and late survival. Superior survival was seen in more contemporary cohorts of patients returning to DAGL., Conclusions: The use of PD compared with HD is associated with similar early and overall survival among patients initiating DAGL. Differences in both patient characteristics and predialysis management between patients returning to DAGL and transplant-naive incident dialysis patients may be responsible for the absence of an early survival advantage with the use of PD in DAGL patients.

The CANUSA investigators reported a near doubling of the risk of death in peritoneal dialysis patients treated at U.S. sites compared to Canadian centers. Recently, evidence has suggested that background mortality rates in the general population might be responsible for differences in death rates on dialysis. The objective of this study was to determine if differences in background mortality in the general population were responsible for the increased risk of death observed in American patients in the CANUSA study. The CANUSA study was a prospective cohort study of 680 consecutive peritoneal dialysis patients at 14 centers in the U.S. and Canada. Extensive baseline data were available for all patients. The expected mortality rate of an individual of the same age, sex, and country of residence was determined at the time of enrollment in the CANUSA study. Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine if background mortality rates were responsible for the observed differences in survival between the two countries. Background mortality rate in the general population was associated with an increased risk of death on peritoneal dialysis, but after adjustment for other baseline factors, it was no longer significant. The adjusted, relative hazard of dying in the U.S. compared to Canada was unchanged after further adjusting for background mortality rate in statistical models (HR = 1.93; 95% confidence interval: 1.13 - 3.28). In conclusion, the increased risk of mortality in U.S. patients enrolled in the CANUSA study was not explained by differences in the background mortality rate in the general population.

Background and Objectives: Despite the decreasing incidence of peritonitis among peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients over time, its occurrence is still associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Determining factors that are associated with PD peritonitis may facilitate the identification of patients who are at risk., Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: Using data collected in the multicenter Baxter POET database between 1996 and 2005, the study population included incident Canadian PD patients. Potential predictors of peritonitis were sought using a negative binomial model and an Andersen-Gill model. Study variables included age, gender, race, cause of renal disease, diabetes status, transfer from hemodialysis (HD), previous renal transplant, and continuous ambulatory PD (CAPD) versus automated PD (APD)., Results: Data were available for 4247 incident PD patients, including 1605 patients with a total of 2555 peritonitis episodes. Using the negative binomial regression model, factors that were independently associated with a higher peritonitis rate included age, Black race, and having transferred from HD. There was an interaction between gender and diabetes, with an increased risk for peritonitis among female patients with diabetes. The use of CAPD versus APD did not affect the peritonitis rate. The Andersen-Gill model for recurrent events yielded similar results., Conclusions: Predictors of PD peritonitis included Black race, transferring from HD to PD, and diabetes among women. In contrast to previous findings, CAPD and APD were similar with regard to peritonitis risk.

Background and Objectives: Despite reductions in the frequency of peritoneal dialysis (PD)-related infectious complications over time, peritonitis and catheter infection remain important causes of morbidity and mortality. Given the increasing number of elderly patients reaching end-stage renal disease, making informed decisions about PD utilization is contingent on an understanding of the infectious complications of PD in this population. We therefore studied the impact of age on infection rates, organisms and outcomes., Design, Setting, Participants and Measurements: On the basis of data collected from 1996 to 2005 in the multicenter Baxter Peritonitis Organism Exit sites Tunnel infections database, the study population included 4247 incident Canadian PD patients: 1265 patients aged > or =70 yr and 2982 patients aged <70 yr. We defined two eras of PD initiation: 1996 to 2000 and 2001 to 2005., Results: In a negative binomial model, older age was independently associated with a higher peritonitis rate (rate ratio [RR] 1.06 per decade increase; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.10; P = 0.008). However, this association was present only among those who initiated PD at an earlier time (RR 1.13 per decade increase; 95% CI 1.07 to 1.20; P < 0.001 in 1996 to 2000 versus 1.01 per decade increase; 95% CI 0.95 to 1.06; P = 0.81 in 2001 to 2005). Catheter-related infections were less frequent with increasing age regardless of era (RR 0.93 per decade increase; 95% CI 0.89 to 0.97)., Conclusions: The higher peritonitis rate observed in elderly patients may represent an era effect, as age was not associated with peritonitis among patients initiating PD between 2001 and 2005. In addition, catheter infection was less frequent with increasing age.

Recent evidence suggested that noncompliance (NC) with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) exchanges may be more common in US than in Canadian dialysis centers. This issue was investigated using a questionnaire-based method in 656 CAPD patients at 14 centers in the United States and Canada. NC was defined as missing more than one exchange per week or more than two exchanges per month. Patients were ensured of the confidentiality of their individual results. Mean patient age was 56 +/- 16 years, 52% were women, and 39% had diabetes. The overall admitted rate of NC was 13%, with a rate of 18% in the United States and 7% in Canada (P < 0.001). NC was more common in younger patients (P < 0.0001), those without diabetes (P < 0.001), and employed patients (P < 0.05). It was also more common in black and Hispanic than in Asian and white patients (P < 0.001). NC was more common in patients prescribed more than four exchanges daily (P < 0.0001) but was not affected by dwell volume. On multiple regression analysis, the independent predictors of NC, in order of importance, were being prescribed more than four exchanges per day, black race, being employed, younger age, and not having diabetes. Being treated in a US unit did not quite achieve significance as a multivariate independent predictor. These findings suggest that NC is not uncommon in CAPD patients and is more frequent in US than in Canadian patients. However, country of residence is less powerful as a predictor of NC than a variety of other demographic and prescription factors.

Objective: To evaluate the potential effectiveness of nystatin as prophylaxis for fungal peritonitis (FP) in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD)., Design: This historically controlled study was designed to investigate the effectiveness of nystatin in the prevention of FP. For this purpose we compared the incidence of FP among 240 (new and prevalent) CAPD patients between January 1996 and November 1996 (period A) with its incidence in 240 new and prevalent CAPD patients in our program between January 1997 and November 1997 (period B) when nystatin prophylaxis was used. There were 2400 patient-months in each period. Nystatin (500,000 IU four times per day), was given orally at the beginning of other antibiotic therapy (usually for peritonitis) and continued for 5 days after the end of the antibiotic therapy., Results: During period A, 133 peritonitis episodes were recorded, and during period B, 99 episodes were recorded. Six episodes of FP were identified in over 2400 patient-months of period A, and 12 in over 2400 patient-months of period B. This difference was not statistically significant. Three episodes of antibiotic-related FP were seen in period A, and four in period B. The remaining episodes arose de novo, that is, unrelated to the use of antibiotics. We observed no side effects for nystatin., Conclusion: In CAPD patients the use of nystatin, a nonabsorbable antifungal agent, as prophylaxis in every instance of peritonitis or other indications for antibiotics, did not lower the incidence of fungal peritonitis.