Effect of short daily home haemodialysis on quality of life, cognitive functioning and the electroencephalogram.
BACKGROUND
End-stage renal disease patients have a poor quality of life (QoL), suffer from impaired cognitive functioning, and their electroencephalogram (EEG) shows abnormalities. Conventional haemodialysis (CHD) only partially restores these disorders. Short daily haemodialysis (SDHD) has been reported to improve QoL, but effects on cognitive functioning and EEG have yet to be described.


METHODS
Of the 13 patients (11 male, 2 female, age 45.5 +/- 8.1 years), 11 completed the Kidney Disease Quality of Life and Affect Balance Scale questionnaires, 10 underwent neuropsychological testing, and all 13 underwent EEG examination. For the neuropsychological assessments, nine patients (six male, three female, age 45.4 +/- 12.6) who remained on the CHD schedule, served as controls. The dialysis schedule of thrice-a-week for 4 h was changed in the experimental group to six times a week for 2 h (SDHD) over a period of 6 months and back to thrice a week for 4 h.


RESULTS
When on SDHD, patients rated several dimensions of health-related QoL as being improved. After resuming CHD, one of these dimensions again decreased and several others worsened even lower than baseline. Cognitive functioning did not change when compared with control data. On the EEG, alpha peak frequency increased slightly when on SDHD but decreased significantly after resuming CHD.


CONCLUSIONS
SDHD improves health-related QoL, but has no clear effects on cognitive functioning and EEG. Resumption of CHD after SDHD decreases aspects of QoL and EEG alpha peak frequency but has no effect on cognitive functioning.
Vos
Pieter F
PF
Dianet Dialysis Centres, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands. p.vos@dianet.nl
Zilch
Oliver
O
Jennekens-Schinkel
Aag
A
Salden
Miriam
M
Nuyen
Jasper
J
Kooistra M
Menno P
MP
van Huffelen
Alexander C
AC
Sitskoorn
Margriet M
MM
D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006437:Hemodialysis, Home / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires