Home Dialysis Central update
[Vol.4, No.9, September 25, 2007]
Learn about PD, daily home HD and nocturnal HD from dialyzors and nephrologists in just 22 minutes with our NEW DVD! Order your copy today! And get your FREE postcard handouts, too.
New MEI tool will help centers assess patients for home dialysis: the MATCH-D
The new Conditions for Coverage are expected to require that patients be assessed for home dialysis suitability. With the help of 32 international home dialysis experts, the Medical Education Institute developed a new tool to help with this process. Download the Method to Assess Treatment Choices for Home Dialysis (MATCH-D) and see for yourself!
UPDATE: quality of life as a clinical performance measure (CPM)
We're one step closer to including health-related quality of life as a CPM! Those of you who took time to submit public comments to support use of the KDQOL-36 will be glad to know that it received more feedback than all of the rest of the measures put together—all positive! Next step: the full National Quality Forum membership votes.
Nocturnal home HD receives national attention
This month, a JAMA study was released on the benefits of 6 nights/week nocturnal home HD compared to standard in-center HD. Read the abstract. The story has already been picked up by the Sacramento Bee, featuring a DaVita clinic (Note: free registration may be needed to read this article).
Pipeline PD technology: Vincenza wearable artificial kidney minicycler
What if instead of exchanging bags of fluid for CAPD, you put in one fresh bag each morning, then wore a small pump to filter and regenerate it over and over? You'd save time—and use a lot less fluid. This system, invented by Dr. Claudio Ronco and associates in Italy, is being tested right now. Read the abstract.
Tidal PD preserves residual kidney function longer
In tidal PD, instead of draining ALL of the fluid out after an exchange, some fluid is always left in the peritoneum. A new, small study suggests that this technique may allow longer use of PD by helping to preserve residual kidney function. After 3 years, 10 dialyzors using tidal PD had significantly higher renal creatinine clearance and urine output than 19 automated PD users. Read the abstract.
Daily home HD gave Jake back his lifestyle
With an extensive family history of polycystic kidney disease (PKD), Jake knew that kidney failure could one day affect him...and it did, at age 60. After PD and in-center HD did not turn out to be good fits for him, Jake discovered that daily home HD allowed him to driver around the country in his RV, visiting dog shows with his wife—taking along his NxStage System One. Read his story.
Topic of the month: dialysis, the flu, and you - 2007 update
The flu is no fun for anyone. But as an adult with kidney failure, you're in a high-risk group if you catch the flu. Kidney failure can weaken your immune system, so the flu is 3 to 4 times more likely to cause pneumonia and make other health problems worse than in healthy people. Read more.
Will Medicare pay for home dialysis equipment that a patient is temporarily not using?
Click here to learn the answers to this & other questions about Medicare payment for PD and home hemo.
Read all about it!
Review home dialysis-related news, courtesy of Nephrology News & Issues. This week's stories include:
- RSN releases survey results: Reveals patients' views on anemia management, transplant issues
- The Association of Dialysis Advocates: Public disclosure of infection data is needed
- Frequent hemodialysis at night may improve ESRD patient outcomes
- Rockwell begins patient enrollment for SFP dose-ranging study
Featured link: useful reading
Did you know that Home Dialysis Central has more than two dozen original, easy to read, fully referenced articles on home treatments? To learn about everything from air travel with a dialysis cycler to Fistula First, read more here and feel free to contact us and suggest a new topic.
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