Kidney Patients Ask for More Information on Options

Many kidney failure patients want more detailed information about their treatment choices, according to a new study.

More than 30 percent of the 1,000 U.S. patients who took part in an Internet survey said they felt that the different therapies -- in-center hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, home hemodialysis and kidney transplantation -- were not "equally or fairly presented to them."

Nearly 70 percent of the respondents told the researchers that they were not provided with specific education and training about home hemodialysis, a relatively new option that may offer some advantages -- including ease of treatment -- over in-center dialysis.

Overall, the participants were moderately to highly satisfied with their current treatment, but satisfaction was highest among transplant patients and home dialysis patients, and lowest among in-center dialysis patients.

Doctors had the most influence over people's choice of therapies, the survey found. And, what patients said they wanted most was more information on new treatment and improved medications.

The study was published online Feb. 17 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

"Dialysis patients should be provided with enough information to choose optimal therapies," Dr. Stephen Fadem, of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and lead author of the report, said in a news release from the American Society of Nephrology.  "Our survey shows that dialysis patients do not always receive uniform, thorough information about all possible treatment methods and, as a result, are only moderately satisfied with their pre-treatment education."

~BusinessWeek.com~

Study Finds Differences in Care for Patients Beginning on Dialysis

A study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN)says that kidney disease patients
insured by some federally sponsored national health care organizations are more likely to undergo an important predialysis procedure than patients with other types of insurance.

The results may provide insights into ways to improve kidney-related care for patients before they go on dialysis.

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Daily Hemodialysis Improves Depression and Recovery Time

Hemodialysis patients who transitioned from in-center to daily home dialysis regimens experienced significant improvements in depressive symptoms and post-dialysis recovery times, according to a new report published today in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation.

Patients who made the switch from the normal, thrice weekly in-center treatment regimen to a daily schedule, defined as six times per week, reported more than a 30% decline in depressive symptoms and an 87% drop in post-dialysis recovery time over a 12 month period.

The research team assessed 128 patients making the treatment regimen switch. Patients were assessed upon enrollment and then again four months and 12 months afterward. The average training period to complete the transition was 27 days.

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