title: Effectiveness of home visits to pediatric peritoneal dialysis patients.
abstract: Home visits by trained personnel to patients undergoing home dialysis are required, but little is reported about the effectiveness of such home visits. We retrospectively reviewed home visits to 22 pediatric patients undergoing continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis (PD) at home. A trained dialysis nurse completed each home visit. An average of 1.5 pertinent dialysis findings and 1 pertinent medication finding was noted for each home visit to these patients. The interdisciplinary dialysis team reviewed the home visit findings and made specific recommendations after each home visit. In addition, the training process has been enhanced to incorporate visit findings for future home PD patients. Although not statistically significant in this small number of patients, peritonitis rates declined in the 6 months after initiation of the home visit program. The average cost for a dialysis nurse to complete a home visit is less than the cost of antibiotics for 1 episode of peritonitis. Home visits are valuable for improving clinical care in pediatric patients on home PD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 1 Children's Way, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA. elliseileenn@uams.edu
authors.forename: Eileen N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blaszak
authors.forename: Sherida
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Van Lierop
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D006699:Home Care Services; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006792:House Calls; D006801:Humans; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010372:Pediatrics; D010530:Peritoneal Dialysis / Q000451:nursing*; D010538:Peritonitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate