Remote Patient Management in Automated Peritoneal Dialysis: A Promising New Tool

Remote patient management (RPM) has the potential to help clinicians detect early issues, allowing intervention prior to development of more significant problems. A 23-year-old end-stage kidney disease patient required urgent start of renal replacement therapy. A newly available automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) RPM system with cloud-based connectivity was implemented in her care. Pre-defined RPM threshold parameters were set to identify clinically relevant issues. Red flag dashboard alerts heralded prolonged drain times leading to clinical evaluation with subsequent diagnosis of and surgical repositioning for catheter displacement, although it took several days for newly-RPM-exposed staff to recognize this issue. Post-PD catheter repositioning, drain times were again normal as indicated by disappearance of flag alerts and unremarkable cycle volume profiles. Identification of < 90% adherence to prescribed PD therapy was then documented with the RPM system, alerting the clinical staff to address this important issue given its association with significant negative clinical outcomes. Healthcare providers face a "learning curve" to effect optimal utilization of the RPM tool. Larger scale observational studies will determine the impact of RPM on APD technique survival and resource utilization.