Patient safety in home hemodialysis: quality assurance and serious adverse events in the home setting

Abstract

Interest in home hemodialysis (HD) is high because of the reported benefits and its excellent safety record. However, the potential for serious adverse events (AEs) exists when patients perform HD in their homes without supervision. We review the epidemiology of dialysis-related emergencies during home HD, and present a conceptual and practical framework for the prevention and management of serious AEs for those patients performing home HD. In addition, we describe a formal monitored and iterative quality assurance program, and make suggestions for the future development of safety strategies to mitigate the risk of AEs in home HD.

Keywords: Quality improvement; daily dialysis; home hemodialysis; nocturnal dialysis; patient safety; quality assurance; short daily hemodialysis.