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Last Updated 04/13/08
 
   

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The benefits of daily hemodialysis treatments seem obvious. Daily treatments more closely resemble normal kidney function than three-times-a-week treatments. It also means fewer dietary and fluid restrictions as well as fewer medications. Patient testimonials about the benefits of daily treatments are abundant.

Medicare payment policy, also known as the composite rate, is based on three-times-a-week dialysis. This is, at first glance, less expensive for the government than daily treatments. Evidence is building, however, that daily treatments may result in overall lower healthcare costs for end-stage renal disease patients by reducing hospitalizations and lowering overall drug costs.

The most expensive cost component of a hemodialysis treatment is the patient-care (nursing) labor. This can be greatly reduced by performing hemodialysis treatments in the home. A new generation of home hemodialysis machines is currently under development that greatly simplifies their operation and reduces the burden on a home partner. The Internet also makes remote monitoring of the dialysis machines by trained professional staff affordable and convenient.

Warning:  Changes should never be made in a patient's treatment or care based solely on the information found here.  Every patient has unique healthcare concerns and considerations and all these factors must all be taken into account before any changes can be safely made.  All medical and therapeutic decisions must come from a qualified health care provider.  Read RenalWEB's Legal Disclaimer before proceeding.

  NEWS & LATEST ARTICLES
Clinical effectiveness and quality of life of conventional haemodialysis versus short daily haemodialysis: a systematic review - abstract from Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation - April 3, 2008
Home defibrillators do not increase survival - article from Yahoo!News - April 1, 2008
Grandfather denied home kidney dialysis for 'cost reasons' - even though it's £90,000 cheaper than having the same treatment in hospital - article from the Daily Mail - March 25, 2008
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  WEB RESOURCES
Latest Scientific Journal Articles on Home and Daily Dialysis - list compiled by RenalWEB's Journal Watch
Home Dialysis Central web site
Nocturnal Home Haemodialysis web site
Current Issue of At Home with AAKP an electronic newsletter produced and distributed by the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP)
Home Hemodialysis Fact Sheet (pdf format requires Adobe Acrobat reader.) from the American Nephrology Nurses’ Association
PD and Home Hemo Coverage Maps from the Home Dialysis Central web site
Home Hemodialysis (pdf format requires Adobe Acrobat reader) from the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) web site
Home Dialysis DVD (pdf) from Home Dialysis Central web site
Book: Daily and Nocturnal Hemodialysis by Lindsay, Buoncristiani, Lockridge, Pierratos, and Ting © 2004
Fluid and solute removal: how and why—part one from the Home Dialysis Central web site
Fluid and solute removal: how and why—part two from the Home Dialysis Central web site
Medicare 101 for people on home dialysis from Home Dialysis Central web site
Method to Assess Treatment Choices for Home Dialysis (MATCH-D) (pdf) from Home Dialysis Central
A workshop of the Task Force on Daily Hemodialysis was held April 11-12 at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, MD.
Nocturnal Home Hemodialysis - A First Person Account, Part I and Part II by Michael Williams
The National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) is expected to announce soon that they are accepting Requests for Applications (RFAs) for a Clinical Trial of Daily Dialysis. - July 4, 2001

The proposed RFA will solicit applications to support the implementation of a carefully designed randomized trial of frequent dialysis. The overall goal is to assess the impact of more frequent dialysis on patient morbidity and mortality. It is envisioned that a planning group will be established in 2002, with the expectation that the trial will move into full implementation by 2003.

The listing is meant to provide the earliest possible alert to potential applicants in order to maximize application preparation time. While the NIDDK plans to proceed with this initiative, the publication and timing is not certain and depends on sufficient funds being available. Click here for more information on RPAs from the NIDDK web site.
A primer for the prescription of short-daily and nocturnal hemodialysis - full-text article from Hemodialysis International
Water treatment for home hemodialysis from the Home Dialysis Central web site
At Home With Dialysis - patient web site about her experiences on home dialysis.
American Nephrology Nurses Association (ANNA web site) position on daily home hemodialysis
Search result for Nocturnal dialysis by Google Continually Updated!
Home Dialysis web sites by Yahoo! Continually Updated!
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  HOME AND NOCTURNAL DIALYSIS PROGRAMS
Find a home dialysis center in your area from the Home Dialysis Central web site
How to Find a Home Dialysis Center from the Home Dialysis Central web site
The following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) were prepared by the staff of the Nocturnal Home Hemodialysis (NHHD) program at the Humber River Regional Hospital in Toronto.
Lynchburg Nephrology (Virginia) has their Nightly Home Hemodialysis (NHHD) Program. Their web site includes patient videos explaining their experiences on nightly home hemodialysis.
Rogosin Kidney Center of The Rogosin Institute is the first center in the New York City metropolitan area to offer patients nocturnal hemodialysis. This type of self care home dialysis offers patients independence and freedom for day time activities.
In 1998, the Rubin Dialysis Center in Troy and Saratoga Springs, NY, began their Daily Nocturnal Hemo-Dialysis program (DNHD). Here is the Rubin Dialysis Center web site.
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  PUBMED SEARCHES (National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE Database)
daily dialysis AND hemodialysis Continually Updated!
home hemodialysis Continually Updated!
nocturnal AND dialysis Continually Updated!
MEDLINE / Pubmed Information from the National Library of Medicine
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  K/DOQI™ -  Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative
NKF-K/DOQI Clinical Practice Guidelines Table of Contents
 

Clinical Practice Guidelines and Clinical Practice Recommendations 2006 Updates
 

I. Measurement of Hemodialysis Adequacy (Guidelines 1-3)
 

II. Hemodialysis Dose (Guidelines 4-6)
 

III. Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) Sampling (Guidelines 7-9)
 

V. Hemodialysis Dose Troubleshooting (Guideline 14)
 

VI. Maximizing Patient Compliance to the Hemodialysis Prescription (Guidelines 15-16)
K/DOQI Home Page from the National Kidney Foundation web site
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  DISCUSSION FORUM
Daily, Home, Nocturnal Hemodialysis Discussion Forum - RenalWEB Discussion Forum
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  RELATED TOPICS
Adequate Hemodialysis Therapy - topic page from RenalWEB
Hemodialysis Dose and Adequacy from NIDDK
Clinical Practice Guideline on Adequacy of Hemodialysis - a book available from the Renal Physicians Association web site
Consensus Statement: Mortality and Morbidity of Dialysis from the NIH Consensus Development Program (written in 1993 with 1998 update)
Hemodialysis Advisory Information from the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) web site
Statistical Analyses on dialysis patient hospitalization rates, morbidity, mortality, and more from Chronic Disease Research Group (CDRG)
United States Renal Data System (USRDS) 
National Surveillance of Dialysis-Associated Diseases in the U.S., 2002 - 10 page report from the CDC. (pdf format requires Adobe Acrobat reader.)
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  UPCOMING EVENTS
 
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  INPUT / SUGGESTIONS
E-mail to RenalWEB on the Hemodialysis Adequacy Topic
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