For adults receiving chronic outpatient hemodialysis, use of a smartphone-based app designed to support fluid intake restriction is feasible and associated with sustained reductions in interdialytic weight gain (IDWG), according to a study published in the August issue of Kidney Medicine.
Michael Rocco, M.D., from the Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and colleagues conducted a pre-post intervention study involving adult patients receiving chronic outpatient hemodialysis with mean IDWG >3.5% during a three-month period. Participants were trained to use a smartphone app that allowed them to record fluid intake and incorporated behavioral support features. During the eight-week active phase of the trial, patients were asked to use the app daily. IDWG was also assessed during a six-month passive phase.
The active phase was completed by 23 patients, who provided app data. The researchers found that mean IDWG for the three-day interdialytic interval decreased by −0.52 ± 0.24 lb and −0.86 ± 0.96 lb during the active and passive phases, respectively, compared with baseline. There were no safety concerns (defined as a >50% increase in IDWG). The app was used on ≥80% of days by 65% of participants during the active phase and was used daily by 26% of participants. During the passive phase, reductions in IDWG were sustained. Weak, non-statistically significant correlations were seen between app-recorded fluid intake and IDWG.
