NEW YORK—Patients who transitioned from in-center to daily home dialysis regimens experienced significant improvements in depressive symptoms and post-dialysis recovery times, according to a new report published in the Sept. 1 American Journal of Kidney Diseases.
Patients who made the switch from the normal, thrice weekly in-center treatment regimen to a daily schedule, defined as six times per week, reported more than a 30 percent decline in depressive symptoms and an 87 percent drop in post-dialysis recovery time over a 12-month period.
The research team assessed 128 patients making the treatment regimen switch. Patients were assessed upon enrollment and then again four months and 12 months afterward. The average training period to complete the transition was 27 days
“Depression and post-dialysis fatigue are important concerns for patients with kidney failure,” said Kerry Willis, PhD, National Kidney Foundation’s senior vice president of Scientific Activities. “These findings suggest that increasing the number of times a patient dialyzes can improve their quality of life, which has been linked to fewer trips to the hospital and a lower mortality rate.”
This report is part of the FREEDOM (Following Rehabilitation, Economics and Everyday-Dialysis Outcome Measurements) Study, an ongoing prospective cohort study investigating the clinical and economic benefits of daily hemodialysis.
FREEDOM is sponsored by NxStage Medical, which manufactures the System One Portable Dialysis Machine.
“The improvement in depression symptoms may be directly related to the shortened recovery time and less dramatic chemical changes with more frequent dialysis,” said Dr. Fredric Finkelstein, of Yale University School of Medicine and member of the FREEDOM Study group.
