Authors (including presenting author) :
HO CKM(1), CHEUNG ASC(1), CHEUNG VKL(2), SO CC(2), MA KCL(2), CHUNG TCT(2), SO EHK(2), NG GWY(2), CHIA NH(2)
Affiliation :
(1) Renal Unit, Department of Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital (2) Multi-Disciplinary Simulation and Skills Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Introduction :
Peritonitis is a major complication of Peritoneal Dialysis (PD), as well as the primary reason for patients to switch from PD to Haemodialysis (HD). Touch contamination during bag exchange is the common etiology of infection caused by introducing microbes to the sterile peritoneum (Hsieh et al., 2014). To avoid this happen, patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and visual deficit or eye-hand coordination had to receive institutional care. Desperately, existing Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) devices in the market could not serve this purpose.
Objectives :
This project serves as a prelude of designing a more intricate PD device, “Helping Hands”, enabling those patients with poor vision or eye-hand coordination to perform bag exchange individually and safely.
Methodology :
[Recruitment]
All potential participants in the QEH Renal Unit have to meet inclusion criteria as follows:
i) newly commenced PD: being judged as “unable to perform bag exchange individually due to poor eye sight or eye-hand coordination”;
ii) performed bag exchange by themselves with frequent episodes of peritonitis (≥ 2 within a year).
[Procedures]
Prior to individual operation of the device at home, several measures would have been taken to ensure patient safety: i) safety check (e.g., culture swab, material test on device), ii) person-to-person training session provided by designated renal nurse on appropriate operation and sterilizing procedure, iii) post-training assessment for procedural acquisition and capacity for individual use and iv) 1-year follow-up.
In case of any clinical signs of peritonitis after commencing CAPD with Helping Hands, necessary actions, such as immediate concession and investigation on type and source of bacteria, will be taken in timely manner.
Result & Outcome :
With advances in 3D printing technology and intellectual exchanges, “Helping Hands” is invented in January 2020. Distinctive features, such as tunnel container for catheter fixation and comfortable handle-and-clips for parallel point-to-point movement, set this device apart from other commercially available gadgets [Minimal Disclosure due to Patent Application! User feedback will be added if being accepted!] [Conclusion] “Helping Hands” is a state-of-the-art module helping PD patients’ dream of independent living come true. Under appropriate use of the device, minimal direct touch on connecting device could result in free (or at lower rate) of peritonitis for 1 year or more.
