Evaluating Medical Devices in Nephrology Using Patient-Reported Outcome and Experience Measures.

Incorporating the patient's perspective into the entire product life cycle of medical device development is paramount for ensuring patient-centric evaluation. By prioritizing patient-centric evaluation, medical device developers can better address patient needs and enhance the quality and effectiveness of health care solutions. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs), patient preference information (PPI), and qualitative inquiry are methodologies to incorporate and amplify the patient's voice.

Acculturation and Health Status in the Children's Healthy Living Program in the Pacific Region.

Acculturation/enculturation has been found to impact childhood health and obesity status. The objective of this study is to use cross-sectional data to examine the association between proxies of adult/caregiver acculturation/enculturation and child health status (Body Mass Index [BMI], waist circumference [WC], and acanthosis nigricans [AN]) in the U.S.

Medication Adherence Among Patients With Kidney Disease: An Umbrella Review.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) imposes a significant medication burden on patients due to the necessity of multiple treatments to slow disease progression, manage coexisting conditions, and address complications. The complex medication regimen, in turn, has implications for clinical and patient-centered outcomes. This umbrella review provides comprehensive evidence on extent of medication nonadherence among adults with CKD, as well as associated risk factors, outcomes, and the effectiveness of interventions by synthesizing evidence from published systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses.

Patient Perspectives on Clotting in the Extracorporeal Circuit and Decision-Making Regarding Anticoagulation Therapy.

Clotting of the extracorporeal circuit is a complication in the process of hemodialysis that can result in missed or shortened dialysis sessions, higher nursing workload, and elevated cost of treatment. Repercussions of inadequate dialysis may include patient blood loss, fluid overload, build-up of minerals, higher hospitalization rates, and poor quality of life, contributing to increased patient distress. Preventing clotting through anticoagulation therapy is the key to maintaining patency of the dialysis circuit and supporting dialysis adequacy.

Patient Perspectives of Skeletal Muscle Cramping in Dialysis: A Focus Group Study.

Key Points: This first step demonstrated content validity for a patient-reported outcome measure for skeletal muscle cramping in dialysis. This work lays the foundation for developing a patient-reported outcome measure for regulatory use to assess skeletal muscle cramping in people receiving dialysis.

Background: Skeletal muscle cramping is a common, painful, and debilitating symptom experienced by people receiving dialysis.