Impact of an in-Hospital Patient Education Program on Choice of Renal Replacement Modality in Unplanned Dialysis Initiation.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Up to 50% patients requiring dialysis receive an urgent, unplanned start (UPS) to renal replacement therapy (RRT). Most of these are initiated with an intravenous catheter and commenced and maintained on hemodialysis (HD). Although peritoneal dialysis (PD) could be an equipotent initial modality for RRT, it is used less frequently as long-term RRT in UPS patients. This multicenter-study aimed to evaluate the impact of a structured, in-hospital education program and factors influencing PD rates, especially in UPS patients.

METHODS: Three German nephrology departments collaborated to implement an in-hospital education program. Retrospective analysis included 336 subjects and compared the rates of HD and PD in consecutive patients who started RRT 12 months prior (two centers) and for 12 months after (three centers) implementing the education program.

RESULTS: PD rates increased significantly (p < 0.05) by 66% in all planned and unplanned dialysis starts after implementation of a structured, patient-centered education program. A highly significant (p < 0.0001) rise in utilization of PD was found, especially in UPS patients. In logistic regression analysis, PD modality choice was significantly influenced by age (p < 0.0001) and gender (p = 0.006).

CONCLUSIONS: A structured, patient-centered in-hospital education program increases the frequency of PD in patients needing unplanned RRT. PD modality choice is significantly higher in young (p < 0.0001) and male (p = 0.006) patients.