Comparison of Psychological Distress and Demand Induced by COVID-19 during the Lockdown Period in Patients Undergoing Peritoneal Dialysis and Hemodialysis: A Cross-Section Study in a Tertiary Hospital

Abstract

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019, it has spread rapidly and widely, bringing great psychological pressure to the public. In order to prevent the epidemic, traffic lockdown was required in many areas of China, which led to inconvenience of treatment for dialysis patients. This study was conducted to explore the psychological distress and the psychological demand induced by CO­VID-19 in the patients undergoing dialysis and compare the difference between hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients during the traffic lockdown period. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Questionnaires were given to the dialysis patients in the West China Hospital of Sichuan University. The Impact of Event Scale (IES) was used to investigate the patients’ trauma-related distress in response to COVID-19. <b><i>Results:</i></b> 232 eligible respondents were enrolled in this cross-section study, consisting of 156 PD patients and 76 HD patients. The median IES score for all the enrolled patients was 8.00 (2.00–19.00), which belonged to the subclinical dimension of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). HD patients had a significant higher IES score than PD patients (11.50 vs. 8.00) (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05). HD patients already got more psychological support from the medical staff. According to IES scores, 22.4% HD patients and 13.4% PD patients were classified as having moderate or severe PTSS, which need psychological support (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05). But more patients of both groups considered psychological support was necessary (HD: 50%, PD: 45.5%) (<i>p</i> &#x3e; 0.05). In the multivariate regression analysis, we found that dialysis vintage, the impact of COVID-19 on the severity of illness and daily life, and confidence in overcoming the disease contributed to IES score (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> HD patients had more severe trauma-related stress symptoms than PD patients. When major public healthy events occurred, careful psychological estimate and sufficient psychological support should be provided to the dialysis patients, especially to the HD patients.