Department of Renal Medicine, Singapore General Hospital, Academia, Singapore, Singapore.
DUKE-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.
Int Urol Nephrol. 2024 Jan;56(1):199-204. doi: 10.1007/s11255-023-03605-1. Epub 2023 May 18.
Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is home-based dialysis therapy and therefore a suitable modality for kidney failure patients, particularly, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study examined patients' preferences for different PD-related services.
This was a cross-sectional survey study. Anonymized data from PD patients followed up at a single center in Singapore were collected using an online platform. The study focused on telehealth services, home visits, and monitoring of quality-of-life (QoL).
A total of 78 PD patients responded to the survey. The majority of participants were Chinese (76%), married (73%), and between 45 and 65 years old (45%). The in-person visit was preferred over teleconsultation for consultation with nephrologists (68% versus 32%), counseling for kidney disease and dialysis by renal coordinators (59%), whereas the telehealth service was favored over in-person visit for dietary counseling (60%) and medication counseling (64%). Most participants (81%) preferred medication delivery over self-collection, and the acceptable turnaround time was 1 week. Sixty percent would like to have a regular home visit, but 23% refused such visits. The preferred frequency of home visits was one-to-three visits within the first 6 months (74%) and then 6 monthly for subsequent visits (40%). The majority of participants (87%) agreed with QoL monitoring, and the preferred frequency of monitoring varied between 6 monthly (45%) and yearly (40%). Participants also indicated three key areas in research to improve QoL, such as the development of artificial kidneys, portable PD devices, and simplification of PD procedure. Participants also would like to see improvement in two main areas of PD services, such as delivery service for PD solutions and social (instrumental, informational, and emotional) support.
Most PD patients preferred in-person visits with nephrologists or renal coordinators; however, they favored telehealth services with dieticians and pharmacists. PD patients also welcomed home visit service and QoL monitoring. Future studies should confirm these findings.
腹膜透析（PD）是一种居家透析疗法，因此是肾衰竭患者的合适治疗方式，特别是在 COVID-19 大流行期间。本研究旨在调查患者对不同 PD 相关服务的偏好。
这是一项横断面调查研究。使用在线平台收集了在新加坡一家中心接受随访的 PD 患者的匿名数据。研究重点是远程医疗服务、家访和生活质量（QoL）监测。
共有 78 名 PD 患者对调查做出了回应。大多数参与者是中国人（76%）、已婚（73%），年龄在 45 至 65 岁之间（45%）。与肾科医生进行咨询时（68%对 32%）、肾脏协调员进行肾病和透析咨询时（59%），参与者更倾向于亲自就诊而非远程咨询，而在接受饮食咨询（60%）和药物咨询（64%）时，则更倾向于远程医疗服务而非亲自就诊。大多数参与者（81%）更愿意接受药物配送而不是自行取药，可接受的周转时间为 1 周。60%的人希望进行定期家访，但 23%的人拒绝家访。首选家访频率为在最初 6 个月内进行 1-3 次家访，然后每 6 个月进行一次后续家访（40%）。大多数参与者（87%）同意监测 QoL，监测频率在每 6 个月一次（45%）和每年一次（40%）之间不等。参与者还指出了改善 QoL 的三个关键研究领域，例如人工肾脏的开发、便携式 PD 设备和 PD 程序的简化。参与者还希望看到 PD 服务的两个主要领域有所改善，例如 PD 溶液的配送服务和社会（工具性、信息性和情感性）支持。
大多数 PD 患者更喜欢与肾科医生或肾脏协调员进行面对面就诊；然而，他们更倾向于接受与营养师和药剂师进行远程医疗服务。PD 患者也欢迎家访服务和 QoL 监测。未来的研究应该证实这些发现。
