The Effect of Artificial Intelligence Supported Mobile Learning Developed for Hemodialysis Patients on Nutrition/Fluid Intake Control and Individual Management

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the late stage is defined as the progressive and irreversible loss of renal functions due to various reasons leading to a decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR). It is estimated that there are 37 million diagnosed cases of CKD worldwide, with CKD ranking ninth among the leading causes of death in the United States. Among the treatment options for end-stage renal failure are hemodialysis (HD), peritoneal dialysis (PD), and transplantation (TX), with HD being the most preferred method by patients. According to the 2022 registration data from the Turkish Society of Nephrology, there were a total of 86,665 CKD patients by the end of 2022, with 71.22% of these patients (n: 61,723) receiving HD treatment.

In patients undergoing HD treatment, the weight gained between two dialysis sessions is defined as interdialytic weight gain (IDWG). The development of hypervolemia due to excessive weight gain can lead to both systemic illnesses and problems during the treatment process. Particularly, cardiovascular problems rank first among systemic illnesses (43%), leading to complications related to excessive ultrafiltration (UF) during the treatment process (hypotension, muscle cramps, nausea-vomiting). Elevated IDWG generally leads to hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, pulmonary edema, congestive heart failure, and higher mortality rates due to all these cardiac problems. The ideal IDWG is expected to be in the range of 1-2 kg or 3-5%. In a study, it was reported that 85% of HD patients had an IDWG of >1.5 kg, especially young, male, and diabetic patients tend to have high IDWG, which leads to an increase in mortality rates due to cardiovascular diseases. Similar results have been reported in many other studies. According to estimates from the United States Renal Data System, cardiovascular events account for 40% of deaths. The 2022 data from the Turkish Society of Nephrology reports that cardiovascular diseases were the leading cause of death (46.3%) among HD patients in our country by the end of 2022. Similar results have been reported in many other studies.

The concept of individual management is defined as the ability of patients with a chronic disease to manage their illness, change their lifestyle, and therefore, live with a chronic disease. Individual management in HD patients requires various skills, including adherence to recommended treatment (e.g., weight gain, nutrition), effective symptom management, problem-solving ability, disease control, decision-making, and communication with the healthcare team. Therefore, increasing individual management in HD patients is known to be associated with increased treatment adherence and better clinical outcomes. In a study, it was found that a mobile application-based individual management program developed to determine the effects of HD patient role behaviors, basic psychological needs, and individual management was effective in increasing patients individual management.