Patient- and Treatment-related Information Needed for Temporary Dialysis Treatment Provided outside Disaster-Stricken Areas

<p>In the acute and post-acute phases of a disaster, or the period immediately after disasters to one month the after, it is often necessary to temporarily transfer dialysis patients to other areas stricken by the disaster to provide them with care. This study aims to discuss patient and other information necessary for dialysis treatment, and provide basic knowledge required to implement prompt and safe treatment.</p><p>The following items were examined, involving 500 randomly selected dialysis facilities : 1) the experience of dialysis treatment provided outside disaster-stricken areas, 2) contents of patient- and treatment-related information provided by affected facilities to those providing dialysis treatment, and 3) details of patient- and treatment-related information needed for dialysis treatment provided outside disaster-stricken areas during the acute and post-acute stages, as well as the importance level of such a need. Furthermore, the importance levels of need for patient- and treatment-related information during the acute and post-acute stages were compared between facilities with and without experience of dialysis treatment.</p><p>As a result, information regarding the following items was markedly needed during the acute stage : <the name of the patient>, <presence/absence of infection>, <dry weight>, <anticoagulants>, <type of blood access>, and <name of the dialyzer>. In addition to these, the following items were also extracted as the contents of information markedly needed during the post-acute stage : <the type of regular injection drugs>, <medication>, <blood flow volume>, and <site of needle insertion>.</p><p>On comparing the level of need for patient- and treatment-related information between facilities with and without experience of providing dialysis treatment outside the stricken areas for patients who had experienced a disaster, the former showed significantly higher mean values for <the duration of dialysis>, <type of regular injection drugs>, <blood flow volume>, <dialysis liquid flow volume>, and <set fluid removal velocity> as the contents of information needed during the acute stage.</p><p>The results suggest that information regarding the above-listed items, which had previously been regarded as necessary for temporarily dialysis treatment based only on experience or estimation, is actually indispensable during disasters, as noted by experts from various facilities. The details of insufficient information were also clarified, indicating the importance of enhancing awareness of the necessity of such information among facilities.</p>