OBJECTIVES Taiwan succeeded in raising the proportion of peritoneal dialysis (PD) usage after the National Health Insurance (NHI) payment scheme introduced financial incentives in 2005. This study aims to compare the economic costs between automated PD (APD) and continuous ambulatory PD (CAPD) modalities from a societal perspective. DESIGN AND SETTING A retrospective cohort of patients receiv...

The approach of establishing a time-specified tolerance limit reflecting the circadian variability in blood pressure and then determining the hyperbaric index, the area of blood pressure excess above the upper limit of the tolerance interval, has been proposed for diagnosing hypertension as well as for evaluating the patient's response to treatment. The retrospective evaluation of this test pro...

BACKGROUND The measurement of blood pressure (BP) at home by patients with hypertension is increasingly used to assess and monitor BP. Evidence for its effectiveness in improving BP control is mixed. METHODS To determine if home BP monitoring improves BP a pragmatic cluster randomized contolled trial was carried out in family practices in southeastern Ontario, Canada. Family practice patients...

Traditionally, blood pressure has been measured by the sphygmomanometer in the medical office. There is growing evidence, however, that office blood pressures may not be typical of values throughout the day. Between 20% and 30% of patients diagnosed with hypertension in the office actually are normotensive at other times. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring with small, portable devices that au...

Continuous peripheral nerve block has been shown to be superior to traditional opioid-based analgesia in terms of improved analgesia with reduced sedation, nausea, pruritis, and hospital stay. Because of its safety and efficacy, continuous peripheral nerve block has broad application in ambulatory and pediatric patients. Techniques for continuous peripheral nerve block have advanced significant...

Peritoneal dialysis is the ultrafiltration therapy of choice for the long-term ambulatory management of patients with diuretic-resistant refractory congestive heart failure. Here we report a case of patient with right heart failure, massive ascites, and refractory to medical treatment treated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.