Factors influencing dialysis modality for end-stage renal disease in developing countries: a survey of Filipino...

In the Philippines, 86% of incident dialysis patients are started on hemodialysis (HD) and 14% are treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD), representing a decline over a 2-year period. One important factor which affects patients' choice of dialysis modality is the input of their physicians. Our objective was to identify the factors affecting attitudes and recommendations of Filipino nephrologists regarding HD and PD.

Attendees of the annual national nephrology meeting completed an anonymous self-administered questionnaire.

Respondents were heavily involved in clinical dialysis work, and 86.7% had most/all of their patients on HD. Recommendations about dialysis modality were based most strongly on overall cost to patient (4.4 on a scale of 1 [not important] to 5 [most important], residual renal function (RRF) preservation (4.4), patient preference (4.3) availability of dialysis support staff (4.3), and comparative quality of life data (4.3). Least important was physician reimbursement (2.8). Patient-related factors favoring HD were: poor personal hygiene, impaired vision and manual dexterity; while favoring PD were: age <10 years, living far from HD unit, and the availability of trainable family members. When asked which modality they would recommend to an equally eligible patient, 49.2% responded they would not recommend either modality and would allow the patient to choose, while 40.7% would recommend HD and 10.2% would recommend PD.

Respondents consider overall cost and RRF preservation as the most important factors in dialysis modality selection, yet only 10.2% would recommend PD as first choice. It is likely that factors other than those addressed in the survey are stronger determinants of the patient's final choice of modality.