NCT06642597

STarting incrEmental Prescription of Peritoneal Dialysis

An International, Multi-centre, Randomised Controlled Trial Co-designed With Consumers With Lived Experience of Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) to Determine the Optimal Approach to Starting Patients With Kidney Failure on PD

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 224 (estimated)
• Sponsor: The University of Queensland · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Kidney failure is fatal without dialysis. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) completed at home offers greater flexibility and autonomy for patients . However, PD is often prescribed for 24 hours/day, 7 days/week for every patient starting dialysis. This practice is not evidence-informed, may be unnecessary and potentially harmful. The STEP-PD trial aims to determine the optimal approach to commencing patients on PD through starting at low dose PD and incrementing over time.

Detailed description

The STEP-PD study is an investigator-initiated, pragmatic, international, multicentre, prospective, adaptive, randomised, open-label, parallel group, non-inferiority trial led by an international multi-disciplinary team of clinician scientists, nephrologists, consumers, social scientists, trialists, health economists, dialysis nurses, statisticians, and registry experts. The STEP-PD trial is co-designed with consumers with lived experience of peritoneal dialysis (PD) to determine the optimal approach to starting patients with kidney failure on PD. Specifically, this trial will test the hypothesis that, compared with full dose PD, starting patients on incremental start PD preserves symptom burden related quality of life (QOL), reduces dialysis burden, is safe, is more environmentally sustainable and costs less for patients, the community and the healthcare system. The STEP-PD trial has the potential to transform and personalise the treatment of kidney failure globally by providing definitive evidence on the patient-prioritised question regarding the effectiveness and safety of incremental start PD, particularly in relation to the patient-critical outcome of symptom burden-related QOL. Favourable results would lead to a paradigm shift in how patients are started on PD, thereby mitigating unnecessarily burdensome, expensive, and possibly harmful treatment.

Conditions

• Peritoneal Dialysis (PD)
• Kidney Failure

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Incremental PD	Incremental PD: Commence PD using goal-directed PD prescription ≤14 exchanges/week for continuous ambulatory PD (CAPD) or ≤21 exchanges/week for automated PD (APD) with no day dwell until an indication for increase in the PD dose (trigger point) is reached.
OTHER	Full dose PD	Full dose PD: Commence with 24 hours, 7 days/week PD (i.e., CAPD ≥28 exchanges/week or APD (overnight) with day dwell (i.e., no dry abdomen)).

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-09-19
• Primary completion: 2029-09-30
• Completion: 2029-09-30
• First posted: 2024-10-15
• Last updated: 2026-03-19

Locations

6 sites across 4 countries: Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand