#1325 Patients reporting not “sleeping normally” are more likely to transition to in-center hemodialysis within 90 days of peritoneal dialysis start

Abstract

Abstract Background and Aims Although there are many advantages to home dialysis therapies such as peritoneal dialysis (PD), many patients drop out of PD and transition to in-center hemodialysis (ICHD). Reasons for this transition are varied and may be multifactorial. The current analysis aims to assess whether self-reported abnormal sleep is associated with transition to ICHD within 90 days of starting automated peritoneal dialysis (APD). Method Patients initiating APD at any Fresenius Kidney Care dialysis clinic between 2017-2019 were eligible for inclusion in this retrospective database analysis (n = 11 668). Monthly, various health-related questions are asked to patients as part of routine care through a home therapy nursing assessment (HTNA). One question asks if the patient is “sleeping normally”. After removing patients without completed HTNA questions on sleep, there were 11 449 patients included. We assessed patients for the first 90 days of PD for transition to ICHD through survival analysis with other reasons for discontinuing PD treated as competing events. Results On average, patients were aged 57 (15) years with BMI of 31 (14.5) and 42% were female. Approximately 5% of patients described their sleep as not normal (553/11449) in their first HTNA. Patients who reported abnormal sleep had 4.4 times the rate of switching to ICHD when compared to patients who reported normal sleep (Hazard Ratio (HR): 4.4; 95% CI: 3.5-5.5, p < 0.0001). After controlling for case mix variables, the HR was 3.7 (95% CI: 2.9-4.7, p < 0.0001). Case mix variables included gender, dialysis vintage, age, race, ethnicity, body size, residual renal function, Charlson Co-morbidity Index, diabetes status, geographic region, size of PD program, insurance primary payor, relationship status, and primary language spoken. Conclusion Among patients dialyzing at home with APD, abnormal sleep may be a risk factor for transitioning from home therapy to ICHD. Identifying root causes of sleep disturbances may help to prevent modality change.