Survey on the current situation of peritoneal dialysis facilities for aged patients

Abstract

We surveyed the current situation of patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) who require support. We sent questionnaires to Japanese PD facilities nationwide and obtained 475 responses. It was found that 173 PD facilities (36.4%) followed up PD patients who are unable to perform PD by themselves. The people who assisted the non-self-sufficient PD patients included their spouses (42.5%), sons or daughters (36.0%), and nurses (15.0%), etc. There were 64 PD facilities that followed up PD patients who did not perform PD at their home or office. Among the 73 non-self-sufficient PD patients, PD was most often performed at medical facilities (hospitals and clinics). There were 88 facilities (38.5%) that had accepted long-term admissions (over 3 months) for PD patients. The following opinions were extracted from the freely reported comments in the questionnaire: it’s necessary 1) to further enhance the support system for patients who undergo PD at home and 2) to increase the number of care facilities or similar facilities besides hospitals that can accept non-self-sufficient PD patients. The current situation of aged PD patients was disclosed by this survey, and various ways in which the support system for PD patients could be improved should be discussed in the near future.