Can using a questionnaire for assessment of home visits to peritoneal dialysis patients make a difference to the treatment outcome?

Training provided by dialysis nurses to the patients is of great importance in peritoneal dialysis (PD). This study aimed to examine how PD patients continue with the training and practice taught in this unit and correlate these data with the incidence of peritonitis. Home visits were paid to 32 patients. A form including questions about 'knowledge and skill' and dialysis environment was filled in for each patient. Answers were graded out of 100 points and were reported as average, percentage and minimum-maximum values. The mean 'knowledge and skill' criterion scoring was 79.8 +/-14.0, and the mean score for the dialysis environment was 87.7 +/-10.9. There was a significant correlation between the 'knowledge and skill' and environmental scores. Meaningful correlations were detected between the 'knowledge and skill' score as well as the environmental score with the rate of peritonitis. Training is of vital importance in PD practice, but results show that the dialysis environment is as important as the patient's knowledge or skill in exchanges.