Effects of exercise therapy during dialysis for elderly patients undergoing maintenance dialysis.
Yusuke Chigira, Takahiro Oda, Masataka Izumi and 1 others
PMID 28210031WHAT IT FOUND
Muscle strength, chair-stand count, and dialysis efficiency showed no clear improvement, but quality of life scores improved in seven older dialysis patients who exercised during dialysis for 3 months.
Key findings
01Seven elderly patients received exercise therapy during dialysis 2 or 3 times weekly for 3 months.
02WHO-QOL26 scores improved, with physical health, environment, and average QOL higher after intervention.
03No significant differences were observed in lower-limb muscle strength, 30-second chair stand, or Kt/V values.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only seven patients were studied, and all were selected as able to exercise during dialysis, so this cannot show what would happen in a broader dialysis population. The study was a single-group before-after design without randomisation or a control group, so the quality-of-life change cannot be separated from time, hospital follow-up, or other dialysis-related care. No primary outcome is specified, so the positive quality-of-life result cannot be treated as the main pre-specified endpoint. Patients with severe cardiac failure or infections were excluded, so safety and effects are not shown for medically unstable dialysis patients. Exercise was limited to lower-limb strengthening and in-bed pedaling during dialysis, so it does not address standing or whole-body training, which the authors suggest may be needed for older patients.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest. No funding source is stated in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that exercise during dialysis improves muscle strength, motor function, or dialysis efficiency. In seven elderly patients, no significant differences were observed in lower-limb muscle strength, CS-30, or Kt/V. The quality-of-life improvement came from a small before-after study without a control group, so it does not prove that exercise caused the change.