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The care of children who receive acute or chronic dialysis is a challenging multidisciplinary enterprise. Acute and chronic dialysis is now routinely available for children throughout the world and pediatric nephrology, nephrology nursing and nutrition providers must be equipped with an ever-growing fund of knowledge and technical skills that reflect the rapid advancements occurring in our understanding of the management of acute kidney injury and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the pediatric patient.
This year, “The fundamentals of dialysis in children” was added to provide a single-source review of the major issues involved in the management of pediatric patients on hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis (PD). Taught by a faculty of international experts, together the Pediatric Symposium and the Fundamentals course comprise the only conference of its kind.
This year’s pre-symposium “Fundamentals of dialysis in children” course, which is slated for March 3, packs 12 state-of-the-art presentations into a full day of entertaining and interactive educational experiences. Topics this year include peritoneal and vascular access; the physiology of dialysis; PD and hemodialysis prescription and adequacy; pediatric dialysis nutrition guidelines, a case-based approach; growth and growth hormone therapy; anemia management; renal bone disease; major infectious complications; cardiovascular complications; and acute kidney injury/continuous renal replacement therapy: The basics. Breakout sessions for nurses, nurse practitioners and dietitians will focus on home visits and managing inventory, PET testing, professional development, practice issues specific to pediatric dialysis nurse practitioners and nutrition case studies.
The Symposium on Pediatric Dialysis 2018 follows the Fundamentals Course and will begin with a special Hot Topics session that includes Franz Schaefer offering a talk entitled “HD vs. hemodiafiltration for pediatric patients,” Maury Pinsk on “The role of simulations in dialysis care” and Allison Tong on “The dialysis patient perspective,” and a session devoted to worldwide reports from pediatric ESRD registries and collaborative studies entitled “Success stories.” Additional breakout sessions for nurses, nurse practitioners and dietitians will cover staffing, the use of the MARS, nutrition case studies and transitioning from RN to nurse practitioner in the pediatric dialysis unit.
Other sessions include a nutrition symposium on “Releasing growth potential in CKD and dialysis” by Pearl Pugh and a symposium on “Using technology to optimize dialysis care” that will address the current state of telehealth in dialysis programs and remote monitoring; “The role of the nurse practitioner in quality and safety” and “Boning up on new MBD guidelines.”
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Steve Alexander, MD; Helen Currier, MA, BSN, RN, CNN, CENP; and Brad Warady, MD, are on the organizing committee for the Symposium on Pediatric Dialysis. Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.