Peritoneal dialysis home visits: A review of timing, frequency and assessment criteria

Peritoneal dialysis is a type of renal replacement therapy required by patients with end-stage renal disease. Visits by nurses to the homes of these patients are a common clinical practice and may increase the likelihood of therapy compliance or reduce the risk of technique-associated infections. Although the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis provides guidelines on reducing the risks of dialysis-related infections, it provides few recommendations for other home visit practices. This paper is a narrative review of literature on peritoneal dialysis home visit practices. The review focusses on clinical practices such as how frequently nurses complete home visits and what is assessed during the visit. The aim of the review is to provide evidence-based recommendations for providing peritoneal dialysis home visit services. Nine publications were reviewed. This literature is characterised by case studies, recommendations and expert opinion, but with little overall consensus or evidence-based guidelines. The literature therefore represents a weak form of evidence. Research using rigorous designs is needed to determine the impact home visit services have on peritoneal dialysis patients' outcomes and how these visits should best be performed.