Telephone Triage in Peritoneal Dialysis Population

Background Information about telephone triage and advice calls regarding dialysis patients is limited. Methods We performed a survey and evaluated nurse-led telephone triage of telephone calls made by peritoneal dialysis patients and/or caregivers during a 7-week period. Results A total of 204 telephone calls were received during the study period. Over half of the calls (54.9%) were made with reference to medical complaints or symptoms. One hundred and four calls were referred by the nurses to have home care. Emergency department attendance occurred after 7.4% of the telephone calls only. Despite relatively good agreement rate between nurses' assessment and patients' action (kappa = 0.703), fewer than 5 out of 10 patients referred by nurses to the emergency department followed the advice. Thirty-four (16.7%) patients showed discordant action from the advice given by the dialysis nurses. Telephone calls related to non-renal causes were associated with increased rates of discordant action (odds ratio, 4.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.45–11.84). Conclusion The value of telephone triage is unlikely to be substantial reduction in emergency department utilization by peritoneal dialysis patients. It is in the interests of the health profession to explore the role of psychological support delivered by renal nurses who provide phone consultation to patients on peritoneal dialysis.