Table 4.

Comparison of PD and HD in different aspects during COVID-like pandemic or epidemic (based on Chen et al. [64] and other information sources) [56, 65, 66, 67, 68]

Aspects	PD	HD
Logistical
Travel	Ease of travel; flexibility in schedule	HD units may not be accessible
Contact	Physicians conduct telemedicine consultations; close contact with healthcare workers is not necessary	Close contact with healthcare workers is needed during needle puncture process
Cluster	PD can be done at home, thereby minimizing the risk of disease clusters	Need for frequent HD unit visits and patient clustering increase the risk of virus spreading
Resources
Medical resources	Low risk of PD solution shortage	Need many healthcare workers, protective equipment, clean water, and dialysis machines, which may be lacking in a COVID-like pandemic or epidemic
HCP resources	No need for healthcare workers	Healthcare workers may be reduced due to illness or quarantine, resulting in a shortage in the workforce
Cost effectiveness	More cost effective/saving than HD in many countries [56, 65, 66, 67, 68] (data available on a country-by-country basis) while providing similar outcomes

HCP, healthcare provider; HD, hemodialysis; PD, peritoneal dialysis.