Impact of Type of Hemodialysis Access on HRQOL on Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis

ABSTRACT Objective: to measure the relationship between the type of vascular access and HRQOL in patients undergoing dialysis in a tertiary care hospital. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Vascular Surgery and Nephrology, Combined Military Hospital, Lahore Pakistan, from Jan to Jun 2021. Methodology: Data was collected by dialysis centre nurses and duty doctors on patients meeting the inclusion criteria. It was a short-form 36(SF-36) questionnaire which included health-related quality of life in terms of physical symptoms, social functions and access-related complications in the last four weeks on a score of 0 to 3. Higher scores showed poorer quality of life. Results: A total of 80 patients were recruited in our study. A total of 80 patients participated in the study. Male predominance was observed 59(73.8%). The mean age of the patients was 53±13.9 years. Mean HRQOL score in AVF was 3.8±4.8, which was the lowest; followed by tunnelled dialysis catheter (TDC) 9.7±4.5 and non-tunnelled double lumen catheter (NTDC) 11.8±9.1. Conclusion: The HRQOL assessment in ESRD patients can inform medical professionals of the efficacy of treatment interventions. It also plays a significant role in improving patient care, evaluating patients' needs, setting treatment goals, and tracking disease progression.