NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – For children with kidney
failure who require dialysis, performing it at home at
nighttime seems to improve their overall sense of well-being, a
study shows.
Dialysis is a process by which waste products are removed
from the bloodstream when the kidneys are incapable of doing
so. Traditionally, patients requiring dialysis travel several
times per week to a clinic where the process can take upwards
of 5 hours.
The use of home nighttime dialysis was developed for adults
in 1994 and the use of this treatment has expanded in the adult
renal failure population, in whom it reportedly improves
dialysis delivery and patient well-being at reduced cost.
The current study suggests it’s a worthwhile option for
adolescents who require dialysis as well.
In the September issue of the Journal of Pediatrics,
Canadian researchers report on four teenagers who successfully
underwent dialysis at home for 8 hours, 6 to 7 nights per week.
The introduction of home nighttime dialysis to a patient’s
home is “a huge undertaking,” Dr. Denis F. Geary and colleagues
from the University of Toronto emphasize in their report.
“However, the improvement in clinical status, school
attendance and performance, which we have noted, and the small
but consistent improvement in quality of life reported by our
patients suggest that the outcomes justify the psychosocial
burden that (it) accompanies.”
The annual cost of home nighttime dialysis per patient was
$64,000 Canadian. This represents a 27 percent savings compared
with hemodialysis performed in a clinic three times per week.
SOURCE: Journal of Pediatrics, September 2005.
Comments