Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has been declared a pandemic. Peritoneal dialysis (PD), being a home therapy, allows for physical distancing measures and movement restrictions. In order to prevent COVID‐19 contagioun among the Dominican Republic National Health System PD program patients, a follow‐up virtual protocol for this group was developed. The aim of this study is to outline the protocol established by the PD program's healthcare team using telemedicine in order to avoid COVID‐19 transmission and to report initial results and outcomes of this initiative. This is an observational prospective longitudinal study with 946 patients being treated in seven centers distributed throughout the country between April 1 and June 30. The protocol was implemented focusing on the patient follow‐up; risk mitigation data were registered and collected from electronic records. During the follow‐up period, 95 catheters were implanted, 64 patients initiated PD, and the remaining were in training. A total of 9532 consultations were given by the different team specialists, with 8720 (91%) virtual and 812 (9%) face‐to‐face consultations. The transfer rate to hemodialysis was 0.29%, whereas the peritonitis rate was 0.11 episode per patient/year. Eighteen adults tested positive for COVID‐19. The implementation of the protocol and telemedicine utilization have ensured follow‐up and monitoring, preserved therapy, controlled complications, and PD lives protected.

Background: In recent years, scientific research on the gut microbiota and their relationship with some diseases, including neurological ones, has notably increased. As a result of these investigations, the so-called gut-brain axis arises. Despite its influence on the evolution and development of cognitive impairment, the gut-brain axis is little defined and demonstrated. Objective: To provide the best scientific evidence available on the relationship between the gut microbiota and Alzheimer’s disease. Method: Systematic and narrative review of the information generated in the last 5 years in national and international databases, in English and Spanish. Results: Eight observational studies were selected, carried out in humans and, therefore, suitable for inclusion in this review. Conclusion: The results of these studies support the hypothesis that there is a relationship between the gut microbiota and cognitive disorders through the gut-brain axis. However, today, there is a substantial lack of human studies, especially clinical trials, which makes it difficult to formulate clinical recommendations on this topic.

Introducción: Los pacientes con Enfermedad Renal Crónica (ERC) son tratados con terapias de diálisis. Dentro de este tipo de tratamiento se encuentran la Diálisis Peritoneal (DP) y Hemodiálisis (HD). Los pacientes sometidos a HD tienen una evolución imprevisible por las complicaciones del tratamiento y/o complicaciones propias de la ERC. Estas aumentan el número de hospitalizaciones y deterioran la calidad de vida (CV). Objetivos: Evaluar la calidad de vida de pacientes en hemodiálisis y determinar la asociación entre las complicaciones y la CV. Material y Método: Estudio transversal analítico en 157 pacientes en HD (75 hombres, 82 mujeres), mayores de 18 años y con más de 3 meses en tratamiento. La CV se evaluó con el instrumento KDQOL-36, el cual, mide 5 dimensiones en escala del 0 al 100. Se realizó un análisis bivariado, ANOVA y regresión múltiple para evaluar la relación de cada una de las dimensiones con edad, sexo, ocupación, estado civil, escolaridad, tipo de acceso venoso, tiempo con la ERC, con la HD y complicaciones de la ERC y la HD. Resultados: La edad promedio fue de 50.9 años. El 77% de los participantes presentaron complicaciones, 69.4% por HD, 5% por evolución de la ERC y 25.6% ambas complicaciones. En el análisis multivariado se encontró que la presencia de ambas complicaciones deteriora más la calidad de vida que las ocasionadas únicamente por el tratamiento de HD. Conclusión: Las complicaciones del tratamiento de hemodiálisis aunadas a las de la ERC deterioran  la calidad de vida del paciente.

Aim The aim of the study was to understand the experiences of patients on automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) during the period of confinement due to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Design Qualitative exploratory study, phenomenological through semi‐structured telephone interview. Method A priori sampling was carried out with patients on APD with remote monitoring and telephone follow‐up, in 13 hospitals in Mexico. Results Twenty‐nine informants, mean age 45.41 ± 16.93; 15 women and 14 men. The analysis revealed four categories of analysis: home isolation, clinical follow‐up, socioeconomic challenges and infodemic. The experiences of these patients led them to somatize emotions, presenting symptoms such as anxiety, sadness, loneliness, sleep, eating and digestive disorders, situation that sets the tone for future research on telemedicine care models, coping styles, emotional support strategies and socioeconomic impact on patients with chronic home treatments during the pandemic.