Outcomes of Remote Patient Monitoring in Peritoneal Dialysis: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Practical Implications for COVID-19 Epidemics

The present study seeks to determine clinical outcomes associated with remote patient monitoring of peritoneal dialysis (RPM-PD), with potential implications during COVID-19 outbreaks. We performed a systematic review in the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases. We combined all study-specific estimates using the inverse-variant weighted averages of logarithmic relative risk (RR) in the random-effects models. Confidence interval (CI) including the value of 1 was used as evidence to produce a statistically significant estimate. Twenty-two studies were included in our meta-analysis. Quantitative analysis demonstrated that RPM-PD patients had lower rates of technique failure (log RR = -0.32; 95% CI, -0.59 to -0.04), lower hospitalization rates (standardized mean difference = -0.84; 95% CI, -1.24 to -0.45), and lower mortality rates (log RR = -0.26; 95% CI, -0.44 to -0.08) compared with traditional PD monitoring. RPM-PD has better outcomes in multiple spheres of outcomes when compared with conventional monitoring and likely increases system resilience during disruptions of healthcare operations.