Health-related quality of life of patients on chronic dialysis: The need for a focused effort

Evaluación de la calidad de vida en pacientes en tratamiento crónico con hemodiálisis en Colombia

Introducción: La terapia de hemodiálisis a pesar de sus beneficios en la sustitución de la función renal, conlleva afectaciones sobre la calidad de vida del paciente en todas sus dimensiones. Objetivo: Identificar la calidad de vida de pacientes en tratamiento con hemodiálisis en una Institución de salud en Cartagena, Colombia, durante 2019. Materiales y Método: Estudio descriptivo transversal de asociación. Población: Adultos con insuficiencia renal crónica en tratamiento con hemodiálisis en una Institución de Cartagena. La muestra fue de 164 pacientes. Se aplicó encuesta sociodemográfica y la versión en español del Kidney Disease and Quality of Life (KDQoL-SF). Resultados: Aspectos sociodemográficos: mujeres (56,1%), de 50–59 años (38,4%), en unión libre (42,7%), de familias nucleares (72,6%), urbanos (70,7%), bachilleres (45,1%), estrato 2 (47,6%), con 2 hijos (29,3%), en tratamiento <1 año (25%) y 4–10 años (25,6%); con asociación estadística entre el estrato socio-económico uno y tener más de un año de tratamiento, mostró riesgo de valorar el estado de salud de regular a malo (p=0,019), sumado a presentar entre mucha (24,4%) y poca (36,6%) limitación, al subir escaleras con dificultad (23,8%), sumado el dolor causado por la enfermedad que genera bastante dificultad en el trabajo (36,6%). Conclusiones: Se afirma que el personal de salud de la Institución es un factor activo en mantener la calidad de vida de los pacientes en terapia dialítica a medida que aumenta sus años en tratamiento.

Sodium and ultrafiltration profiling in hemodialysis: A long-forgotten issue revisited

Sodium and ultrafiltration profiling are method of dialysis in which dialysate sodium concentration and ultrafiltration rate are altered during the course of the dialysis session. Sodium and ultrafiltration profiling have been used, commonly simultaneously, to improve hemodynamic stability during hemodialysis. Sodium profiling is particularly effective in decreasing the incidence of intradialytic hypotension, while ultrafiltration profiling is suggested to decrease subclinical repeated end organ ischemia during dialysis. However, complications such as increased interdialytic weight gain and thirst due to sodium excess have prevented widespread use of sodium profiling. Evidence suggest that different sodium profiling techniques may lead to different clinical results, and preferring sodium balance neutral sodium profiling may mitigate adverse effects related to sodium overload. However, evidence is lacking on the long-term clinical outcomes of different sodium profiling methods. Optimal method of sodium profiling as well as the utility of sodium/ultrafiltration profiling in routine practice await further clinical investigation.

Effect of CKD-MBD phenotype on health-related quality of life in patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis: A cross-sectional study

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with different chronic kidney disease–mineral and bone disorder (CKD–MBD) phenotypes.

Methods

Patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) at our center from 1 July to 31 August 2017 were enrolled. Patients who received hemodialysis for less than 3 months or displayed poor compliance, or those with incomplete clinical data were excluded. QoL was evaluated using the Kidney Disease Quality of Life–Short Form (KDQOL-SF™) 1.3 scale. The influential factors were stratified based on different CKB–MBD phenotypes.

Results

There were 296 patients enrolled. The serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) concentration was 436.40 ± 490.99 pg/mL, serum calcium (Ca) concentration was 2.14 ±0.27 mmol/L, serum phosphorus (P) concentration was 1.81 ± 0.56 mmol/L, the kidney disease and dialysis-related QoL (KDTA) score was 57.07 ± 10.40, and the SF-36 score was 51.45 ± 17.62. Among patients with different CKD–MBD phenotypes, HRQoL was highest in the group with an iPTH concentration of 150 to 300 pg/mL, serum Ca concentration of <2.10 mmol/L, and serum P concentration of >1.78 mmol/L.

Conclusions

CKD−MBD phenotypes significantly affected HRQoL. Comprehensive management of serum iPTH, Ca, and P levels is important to improve QoL in patients receiving hemodialysis.

Association between quality of life and various aspects of intradialytic hypotension including patient-reported intradialytic symptom score

Background

There is increasing awareness that, besides patient survival, Quality of Life (QOL) is a relevant outcome factor for patients who have a chronic disease. In haemodialysis (HD) patients, intradialytic hypotension (IDH) is considered one of the most frequent complications, and this is often accompanied by symptoms. Several studies have investigated QOL in dialysis patients, however, research on the association between intradialytic symptoms and QOL is minimal. The goal of this study was to determine whether the occurrence of IDH has an influence on the perception of QOL.

Methods

During 3 months, haemodynamic data, clinical events, and interventions of 2623 HD-sessions from 82 patients were prospectively collected. The patients filled out a patient-reported intradialytic symptom score (PRISS) after each HD session. IDH was defined according to the EBPG as a decrease in SBP ≥20 mmHg or in MAP ≥10 mmHg associated with a clinical event and need for nursing interventions. Patient’s self-assessment of QOL was evaluated by the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey.

Results

There were no significant associations between the mental summary score or the physical summary score and the proportion of dialysis sessions that fulfilled the full EBPG definition. A lower PRISS was significantly associated with the proportion of dialysis sessions that fulfilled the full EBPG definition (R = − 0.35, P = 0.0011), the proportion of dialysis sessions with a clinical event (R = − 0.64, P = 0.001), and the proportion of dialysis sessions with nursing interventions (R = − 0.41, P = 0.0001). The physical component summary and mental component summary were significantly negatively associated with the variable diabetes and positively with PRISS (P = 0.003 and P = 0.005, respectively). UF volume was significantly negatively associated with mental health (P = 0.02) and general health (P = 0.01).

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that the EBPG definition of IDH does not capture aspects of intradialytic symptomatology that are relevant for the patient’s QOL. In contrast, we found a significant association between QOL and a simple patient-reported intra-dialytic symptom score, implying that how patients experience HD treatment influences their QOL.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12882-019-1366-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Health-related quality of life as predictor of mortality in end-stage renal disease patients: an observational study

Background

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important component of patient-centered outcomes and a useful parameter for monitoring quality of care. We assessed HRQoL, its determinants, and associations with mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

Methods

Short Form-36 was used to assess HRQoL, its domain components, and physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) composite summary scores in altogether 400 (338 incident and 62 prevalent) dialysis patients with median age 64 years, 37% women, 24% diabetes mellitus (DM), 49% cardiovascular disease (CVD), and median estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 5.3 (3.0–9.4) ml/min/1.73². Results were analyzed separately for 338 incident patients starting on hemodialysis (HD; 68%) or peritoneal dialysis (PD; 32%), and 62 prevalent PD patients. Mortality risk was analyzed during up to 60 months (median 28 months).

Results

Linear multivariate regression analysis showed that in incident dialysis patients, 1-SD higher PCS associated negatively with 1-SD higher age, DM and CVD, and positively with 1-SD higher hemoglobin and sodium (adjusted r² = 0.17). In 62 prevalent PD patients, 1-SD higher PCS was negatively associated with 1-SD higher age. MCS was not associated to any of the investigated factors. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that in incident dialysis patients, 1-SD increase of PCS associated with lower all-cause mortality, hazard ratio 0.65 (95% confidence interval 0.52–0.81), after adjustments for age, sex, DM, CVD, plasma albumin, C-reactive protein and eGFR whereas 1-SD lower MCS did not associate with mortality. In PD patients, neither PCS nor MCS associated with mortality.

Conclusions

MCS did not associate with any of the investigated clinical factors, whereas lower PCS associated with higher age, CVD, DM, and lower hemoglobin and sodium levels. MCS was not associated with mortality, whereas lower PCS associated with increased mortality risk. These results suggest that HRQoL - in addition to its role as patient-centered outcome - matters also for hard clinical outcomes in ESRD patients. Our knowledge about factors influencing MCS in ESRD patients is limited and should motivate further studies.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12882-019-1318-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Health-related quality of life in peritoneal dialysis patients: A narrative review

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important aspect of patients´ health that should be an integral part of the evaluation of patient-centered outcomes, not least because HRQOL associates with patients´ morbidity and mortality. This applies also to chronic kidney disease patients, including those dependent on renal replacement therapies, the type of which may influence patients´ perception of HRQOL. Several studies have addressed HRQOL in chronic kidney disease patients undergoing renal replacement therapies, especially transplanted patients and hemodialysis patients, while publications concerning peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients are scarcer. This review describes some of the methods used to assess HRQOL, factors influencing HRQOL in PD patients, HRQOL in PD vs hemodialysis, and the relation between HRQOL and patient outcomes. We conclude that assessment of HRQOL-often neglected at present-should be included as a standard measure of patient-centered outcomes and when monitoring the quality and effectiveness of renal care including PD treatment.