Monitoring chronic hemodialysis patients: A questionnaire-based survey

Background., The monitoring program for patients on regular hemodialysis treatment (RDT) is not well defined yet by current international guidelines (CIG). Methods: To evaluate the extent to which CIG are implemented, we sent a questionnaire to 100 Italian hemodialysis units (DU) with questions concerning: (a) the frequency with which routine tests were performed for the follow-up of patients on RDT; (b) which other non-routine tests were performed. We analyzed the response data and compared them with the CIG. Results: We received 37 replies. We found several differences between the monitoring program of our respondents and the CIG. Conclusion: Because of the small number of responses, this survey is only preliminary, however it shows the difficulty nephrologists have in using the CIG to create a correct monitoring program in patients on RDT Although our analysis is limited to 37 DUs, it suggests that specific guidelines are necessary to optimize the management of patients on RDT (Int J Artif Organs 2008; 31: 730-6)