Implementation of a cooperative program for peritoneal dialysis.

Nephrologists and dialysis specialists familiar with renal replacement therapies (RRTs) should periodically send appropriate information to chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients from the early stage via a cooperation program and educate patients on choosing a suitable RRT themselves. From 2009 to 2010, 63 patients (32 men and 31 women) were introduced to our hospital by a general practitioner through a cooperation program. Five patients (7.9%) measured home blood pressure and 2 (3.2%) received nutrition education. On close inspection, 7 patients (11.1%) had undergone surgery for cancer or a severe cardiovascular disease. We changed the prescription contents of the general practitioners in 58 patients (92.1%) and gave nutrition education to the 61 patients (96.8%) who did not receive it. In the 57 patients (90.5%) who continued the cooperation program, we changed the prescription contents of 32 patients (56.1%), and all patients recorded home blood pressure on the second visit. Participation in the educational peritoneal dialysis (PD) promotion program enabled advanced-stage CKD patients to understand PD, and as a result, PD selectivity at our hospital increased from 8.8 to 15.0% over 2 years. Periodic intervention of specialists in the cooperation program is necessary to assess values of parameters such as blood pressure, blood glucose, lipids, uric acid, and anemia during the clinical course to delay the progression of CKD. It is important that PD patients improve their quality of life by continuing treatment to prevent deterioration of residual renal function as much as possible after PD initiation in the same manner as CKD predialysis.