Abstract / Summary
People receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD) are expected to record considerable clinical and dialysis-related information at home. This study aimed to assess the feasibility and clinical outcomes of a novel smartphone application (App), PD-Buddy, developed to facilitate timely and accurate PD data collection and sharing with the PD healthcare team. Adult (≥ 18 years) patients with kidney failure on PD were randomised 1:1 to PD-Buddy app (intervention) or routine care (control) and followed for 9 months. The primary outcome was feasibility, defined as achieving ≥ 80% recruitment of eligible participants and limiting the drop-out and drop-in rates to ≤ 2.5% between the intervention and control arms. The secondary outcomes were self-reported quality of life (QOL; EQ-5D-5 L), hospitalisation, PD-related infection (peritonitis, tunnel and exit site infections), haemodialysis transfer, mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events. Of 74 patients deemed eligible to participate, 44 (59%) were recruited to the study (intervention n = 22; control n = 22), falling short of the feasibility target of ≥ 80%. One participant in each arm — intervention and control — dropped out of the study due to loss of interest. Fourteen (32%) patients did not complete the full nine-month follow-up period (Intervention: 23%; Control: 41%) due to budget exhaustion from slow enrollment, which prolonged recruitment. No significant differences were observed in any secondary outcome between the two groups, including self-reported QOL, hospitalisation, PD-related infection, haemodialysis transfer, mortality, and major adverse cardiovascular events. This study did not demonstrate the feasibility of conducting a larger PD-Buddy trial due to low recruitment. ACTRN12626000482369 (17/04/2026).