Kidney Week

Abstract: SA-PO308

Research Participation Rates by Hemodialysis Shift and Schedule

Session Information

• Hemodialysis and Frequent Dialysis: Potpourri
  November 05, 2022 | Location: Exhibit Hall, Orange County Convention Center‚ West Building
  Abstract Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Category: Dialysis

• 701 Dialysis: Hemodialysis and Frequent Dialysis

Authors

• Rigodon, Vladimir, Fresenius Medical Care North America, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States

Vladimir Rigodon,

• Jiao, Yue, Fresenius Medical Care, Global Medical Office, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States

Yue Jiao,

• Larkin, John W., Fresenius Medical Care, Global Medical Office, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States

John W. Larkin,

• Usvyat, Len A., Fresenius Medical Care, Global Medical Office, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States

Len A. Usvyat,

• Anger, Michael S., Fresenius Medical Care North America, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States

Michael S. Anger,

• Maddux, Franklin W., Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co KGaA, Bad Homburg, Hessen, Germany

Franklin W. Maddux,

• Smith, Russell, Frenova Renal Research, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States

Russell Smith,

Background

Trial conduct is fundamental to the development of better therapeutics/devices that maintain health and treat the ailments of mankind. In kidney failure, most patients are treated by in-center hemodialysis (HD) for 240 minutes thrice weekly, which offers ample opportunities to invite patients to participate in trials. HD occurs in shifts through the day that are typically performed on Monday, Wednesday, Friday (MWF) or Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday (TTS) schedules. Many clinics are involved in trials, however, there have been questions on the equivalence of offerings and participation rates by HD shifts and schedules. To start to understand this, we assessed trial participation rates by HD shift and weekday at a clinic network.

Methods

We used data from all adults at HD clinics that participated in industry-sponsored trials and enrolled ≥1 participant during Oct 2018-2021. We computed the proportion of research participants (i.e. enrolled in ≥1 trial) to non-research patients per HD shift and per weekday.

Results

Among 218 HD clinics, 2.0% of patients (1,274/63,014) were enrolled into ≥1 trial during the 3 years. The greatest % of patients enrolled were treated in the 1^st shift on a MWF schedule and participation rates decreased with each later shift (Figure 1). Consistent signals were seen in shifts 1-5 for patients treated on a TTS schedule, however, the highest % of patients were enrolled in the 6^th shift (nocturnal HD).

Conclusion

Findings identified disparities in research enrollment by HD shift and schedule, with the most trial participants receiving HD in the 1^st shift of the morning on an MWF schedule. These findings are likely showing research staff resourcing patterns and representative of when the largest subset of patients is treated. Nonetheless, it suggests there may be less opportunities afforded to patients in certain shifts and schedules. Given patient characteristics (e.g. age, comorbidities) are often distinct between shifts these observations will be important to be considered.

Funding

• Commercial Support – Fresenius Medical Care