The association between intradialytic exercise and hospital usage among hemodialysis patients

Hemodialysis (HD) patients have high hospitalization rates. Benefits of intradialytic exercise have been proven in numerous studies yet exercise programs are still rarely used in the treatment of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Our objective was to determine if there was an association between a 6-month intradialytic bicycling program and hospitalization rates and length of stay (LOS) in ESKD patients. This was a retrospective cohort study that took place 6 months prior to and 6 months during an intradialtyic exercise program at an outpatient HD unit in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Participants comprised 102 patients who had commenced HD <6 months (incident) or >6 months (prevalent) prior to starting exercise. The intervention comprised a 6-month intradialytic bicycling program. Main outcome measures were hospitalization rate, cause of hospitalization, and LOS. Patients were predominantly male (67.6%) aged 65.6 ± 13.5 years and median HD vintage 1 year (range: 0-12). Comorbidities included diabetes mellitus (50%) and cardiac disease (38.2%). The hospitalization incidence rate ratio (IRR) was 0.48 (0.23-0.98; P = 0.04) in incident and 0.89 (0.56-1.42; P = 0.64) in prevalent patients. The LOS decreased from 7.8 (95% confidence interval (CI): 7.3-8.4) to 3.1 (95% CI: 2.8-3.4) days and LOS IRR was 0.39 (0.35-0.45; P < 0.001). The main predictors of hospitalization were lower albumin levels (P = 0.007) and lack of intradialytic exercise program participation (P < 0.001). In conclusion, 6 months of intradialytic exercise was associated with decreased LOS in both incident and prevalent HD patients.