Renal Failure

Precision Dialysis: Personalizing Treatment from Patient Characteristics to Individualized Prescriptions

Precision dialysis seeks to align extracorporeal dialysis and peritoneal dialysis prescriptions with each patient's clinical characteristics, physiological responses and priorities. Individualization considers age, cardiovascular stability, fluid and solute removal needs, residual kidney function, peritoneal transport, comorbidities, functional status and patient preferences.

Prescriptions may need to evolve as these factors change, in both adult and pediatric populations and across home and facility settings. Physiological monitoring, patient-reported measures and shared decision-making may help identify when treatment needs adjustment.

The central objective is to connect patient-specific information with explicit prescription choices and outcomes that matter to patients.

Although precision approaches are increasingly advocated, evidence remains limited on which patient characteristics should trigger a change in dialysis prescription, how those changes should be selected, and whether adaptation improves outcomes compared with conventional care.

Evidence is needed to link individual patient profiles and dynamic treatment responses with actionable decisions, prospective assessment, external validation and meaningful benefits in safety, symptom burden, physical function, quality of life and clinical outcomes. Modalities, age groups and home-care constraints must be considered.

This Article Collection prioritizes clinically interpretable studies of treatment adaptation over purely descriptive risk stratification or technology development

This Article Collection welcomes original clinical studies, pragmatic trials, prospective cohorts, external validation studies, systematic reviews and focused state-of-the-art reviews addressing individualized prescriptions and their consequences.

Topics include tailoring treatment duration, frequency, dose and fluid management in extracorporeal dialysis; patient-specific peritoneal dialysis prescriptions based on membrane transport and residual kidney function; prevention of hemodynamic and technique-related complications; individualized strategies for pediatric and vulnerable populations; and shared decisions informed by symptoms, functional status and patient-reported outcomes.

Artificial intelligence, remote monitoring, imaging and other tools are in scope when they help select, implement or evaluate a patient-specific treatment change.

Submissions should specify which patient characteristics guide the clinical decision, what prescription is adapted, and how its safety, feasibility and clinical benefits are assessed.

Article Collection key terms:

• Precision dialysis
• Extracorporeal dialysis
• Peritoneal dialysis
• Individualized prescription
• Patient-centered outcomes

Article Collection Guest Advisors:

Associate Professor Yuri Battaglia, MD, PhD, is Associate Professor of Nephrology at the University of Trento and leads the Nephrology and Dialysis Unit at ASUIT Trento, Italy. His research focuses on hemodialysis, hemodiafiltration,  ultrasound-based assessments and patient-centered approaches to kidney care, including exercise and muscle health. He has contributed to European dialysis consensus work and scientific activities within the ERA EuDial Working Group.

All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; the Guest Advisors for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts (unless they are an Editorial Board member).

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 16th August 2027.

Please contact Rebecca Kearns at Rebecca.Kearns@tandf.co.uk with any queries and discount codes regarding this Article Collection.

Please be sure to select the appropriate Article Collection from the drop-down menu in the submission system.

The Guest Advisor for this Article Collection has declared no conflict of interests