Daily hemodialysis: A nursing perspective

Daily hemodialysis can be performed in the center or at home for varying le ngths of time. Short daily hemodialysis (SDHD) can be defined as one and on e half- to three-hour treatments performed 6 days per week. Nocturnal hemod ialysis (NHD) is performed for 6 to 10 hours, 5 to 7 nights per week. Patie nt selection criteria can range from basic requirements, such as the abilit y to communicate, to medical necessity related to comorbid conditions. Cent ral venous catheters (CVCs), mature arteriovenous fistulas, and synthetic g rafts have been used successfully for daily dialysis therapies, although do cumented experience with grafts is somewhat limited. Documented nursing iss ues surrounding these therapies are very limited. Few changes are required to adapt daily dialysis to the in-center environment. Patient training stra tegies and scheduling for the home application vary between institutions, b ut the core approaches remain the same. Daily hemodialysis therapies can be integrated easily into existing home hemodialysis programs with very littl e extra effort. This article discusses nursing issues and provides relevant information for those who are interested in incorporating daily hemodialys is (DHD) therapies into their program. (C) 2001 by the National Kidney Foun dation, Inc.