PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Maria Pia Rodighiero

Publications and source records attributed to Maria Pia Rodighiero.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Integration of peritoneal dialysis in the treatment of uremia.

The real integration of a specific therapy into the renal replacement program is represented by the possibility of easy and free patient transfer from one treatment to another without restrictions. In the case of peritoneal dialysis we feel that its integration in the therapeutic approach of uremia represents an ethical obligation for the physician, a clinical opportunity for the patient and a good cost/benefit solution for care givers. A full conviction that peritoneal dialysis represents a real therapeutic option for ESRD patients is necessary to achieve a real integration of this therapy in the uremia treatment program. A positive cost benefit ratio, both from the clinical and the economical points of view must also be seeked. The patient indirectly, must receive the same positive conviction, based on solid data and clinical results, comparable to those achievable in hemodialysis. Furthermore the patient must know that such treatment will provide an equal opportunity for kidney transplant compared to other therapies. Such a kind of feeling and knowledge must include information on patient's survival, rate of complications, treatment adequacy, availability of different techniques within the treatment and complete summary of advantages and disadvantages.

Humans↗

Evolution of technology for automated peritoneal dialysis.

Automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) is important for the further penetration of PD in the dialysis marketplace. Long dwell, equilibration PD (CAPD) has limited applicability in many patients due to inadequate solute clearance or fast membrane transport characteristics. Providing large volumes of dialysate over circumscribed hours is highly labor intensive without an automated system. Early attempts at APD were crude but effective in reducing labor, which was generally provided by nursing staff. Later evolution of PD technology has been greatly accelerated by the microchip, and by miniaturization of components. Current generation machines allow individualized fill volumes, variable tidal volumes and additional daytime automated exchanges, teledialysis, memorized delivery control, and full portability. The ideal machine should not only be able to perform all treatment schedules, but it should also optimize the performance of a selected treatment strategy. Biocompatible solutions, improved osmotic agents, and sorbent technology are all adaptable to APD. The eventual evolution toward continuous flow PD will resolve many of the current problems with both CAPD and APD.

Humans↗

A new home based bioimpedance system for PD.

Fluid overload and uncontrolled hypertension may be considered important mortality risk factors in peritoneal dialysis (PD) population. Even malnutrition is highly prevalent in PD patients. It is now well established that lower levels of serum markers of nutrition such as albumin, creatinine, and prealbumin are associated with increased mortality in PD patients [Fein, P.A. et al: Adv Perit Dial 2002;18:195-199]. Moreover cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in patients with end-stage renal disease, and hypertension and volume expansion are highly prevalent in long-term PD patients. Many studies in hemodialysis and in PD have demonstrated that phase sensitive bioelectrical impedance analysis is a widely used and proven method for evaluating patient's body composition. The vectorial bioimpedance analysis is a validated system to evaluate the hydration and nutritional state of hemodialysis and PD patients with acceptable sensitivity and specificity. The aim of this study is to evaluate the reliability and accuracy of the new multifrequency BodyComp bioimpedance analyzer as a home based tool versus traditional Bia Vector.

Adult↗

APD prescription: achieving the adequacy goals.

In the last few years, automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) has undergone considerable improvements due to technological developments. The definition of a minimal dose of peritoneal dialysis (PD) has not yet been completely assessed. Appropriate use of APD requires an evaluation of dialytic efficiency in terms of dialytic indexes and their targets. Many dialytic treatment modalities have been performed in order to achieve adequacy targets. Some aspects have to be taken into consideration to reach the optimal dialytic dose: optimizing mass transfer in correlation with intraperitoneal volumes, prescribing tailored treatment modalities according to different characteristics of peritoneal membranes and individual patient needs, and performing more biocompatible treatments using different glucose profiling and alternative physiologic PD fluids. New high-flow techniques such as continuous flow PD can ensure better urea and creatinine clearances and ultrafiltration rates, leading to a higher utilization of the APD modality.

Automation↗