The Frequency of Routine Blood Sampling and Patient Outcomes Among Maintenance Hemodialysis Recipients

Increasing Peritoneal Dialysis Use in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Will It Go Viral?

“…If routine blood work for a patient receiving PD before the pandemic has been stable, within target, and the person is clinically well, frequency of blood work may also be reconsidered, particularly in the face of recent evidence in the hemodialysis population that did not demonstrate deleterious consequences with regular but less-frequent blood sampling. 8 Blake et al 9 have described six steps for patients to access PD: identifying candidates for PD, assessing candidates for eligibility, offering PD, choosing of PD by the patient, inserting the PD catheter, and training to start PD. For use of PD to increase, prejudices regarding which patients are eligible for PD will have to change.…”

Routine Monthly Blood Draws in Hemodialysis: Where Is the Evidence?

“…They used administrative databases in Ontario, Canada, to compare patient outcomes in hemodialysis facilities that routinely perform laboratory testing monthly (N = 17; 5,335 patients) with outcomes in facilities testing only every 6 weeks (N = 8; 2,119 patients). 2 This observational cohort study found that routine laboratory testing every 6 (vs every 4) weeks was not associated with increased all-cause mortality, hospitalizations, cardiovascular events, or emergency department visits. In particular, there was no increase in episodes of treatment for hyperkalemia.…”

Management of COVID-19 in special populations with kidney disease

“…11 Thomas and colleagues showed that monthly blood sampling was not associated with a lower risk of death when compared to sampling every 6 weeks. 12 Based on this study, we recommend that the home dialysis team should work with ESKD patients to decide if a more spaced-out surveillance blood work is appropriate.…”