Acceptance of patients receiving peritoneal dialysis in geriatric health services facilities

A postal questionnaire enquiring about the acceptance of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients was carried out at 1,139 geriatric health services facilities in the Kanto area. The questions were about the knowledge and current status of the acceptance of PD patients, the reason for the lack of acceptance of PD patients, and the requirements for acceptance. Among 535 facilities at which our questionnaires were completed, PD patients live in only 4 facilities. The main reasons for not accepting them were the absence of a linked hospital for emergencies, requests from patients, and the difficulty of dialysate exchange. However, 34% of the facilities that do not accept PD patients may accept them by improving these factors.