[Hemodialysis performance in Center East Tunisia: Compliance and adequacy of biological tests (PHCET study 2014)]

Determining the performance level of hemodialysis facilities, including an evaluation of biological tests, is a prerequisite for quality assessment of these healthcare structures.

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the compliance and adequacy of biological tests performed in 2014 in Center-East Tunisia hemodialysis units.

Data were collected using an analysis grid for 15 biological indicators including 11 process items and four results items used to determine the compliance and adequacy rates respectively.

This study included 660 hemodialysis patients (sex ratio 1.16; mean age 53.9±15.32 years). A low level of compliance was noted for several biological tests (blood glucose: 0.8%; hemoglobin 34.5%). The rate of adequacy of the biological results was insufficient, especially for anemia (32.7%) and calcium-phosphorus surveillance (41.8%). Intercenter and inter-region variability was noted, both for compliance and for adequacy of biological tests.

This study demonstrated low compliance of biological tests performed for hemodialysis patients and the non-adequacy of the results obtained. It is thus urgent to institute a quality management system for biological tests performed in hemodialysis units.