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Kidney Week

Abstract: FR-PO495

Broadening Access to Home Hemodialysis with VersiHD GuideMe Software

Session Information

  • Home Dialysis - 1
    October 25, 2024 | Location: Exhibit Hall, Convention Center
    Abstract Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Category: Dialysis

  • 802 Dialysis: Home Dialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis

Authors

  • Lile, Kristen R., Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
  • Vijayan, Anitha, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Introduction

Home hemodialysis (HHD) allows independence for patients with end stage kidney disease (ESKD) & is associated with improved patient satisfaction & clinical outcomes. In addition to bettering quality of life, HHD can improve blood pressure & fluid control. Despite proven benefits, the use of HHD remains limited due to the complexity of HHD training & concern for adverse events. The VersiHD GuideMe software aims to make HHD available to more patients by simplifying HHD.

Case Description

Training for HHD takes 8-12 weeks, leading to significant time commitment for patients & care partners. We followed a patient training for HHD using the VersiHd GuideMe software. This software is available with the NxStage system & provides step-by-step instructions through a simplefied interface to improve ease & speed of learning for patients. Our patient suffered from chronic fluid overload & recurrent hospitalization while undergoing traditional, thrice weekly hemodialysis through an arteriovenous fistula. Using the VersiHD GuideMe software, the patient & their care partner were able to safely complete HHD training over a span of 3 weeks dating from 2/22/24-3/14/24. As of this writing, the patient has had no adverse events associated with HHD or new hospitalizations. This patient has had improved debilitation & is now undergoing transplant evaluation.

Discussion

Despite improved clinical outcomes with HHD, utilization in practice has remained limited in part due to the technical complexity of treatment. Training for HHD can be a time-consuming process, with training taking 8-12 weeks. Using the VersiHD GuideMe software, our patient was able to complete HHD training in 3 weeks, resulting in an improvement in cardiovascular outcomes that were not achievable with traditional dialysis. The VersiHD GuideMe software provides a user-friendly, succinct method for training patients on HHD therapy, opening the door to more ESKD patients who can benefit from this therapy.