Development of a 'Phosphate Counting Program'

Hypothesis: The use of a program that assists with selection of the appropriate number of phosphate binders for a meal based on patient specific factors will result in improved serum phosphate control, a reduction in overall number of phosphate binders used and enhanced patient satisfaction. Primary Aim: To determine if teaching patients to use a 'phosphate counting' program installed on an iTouch that selects the appropriate amount of phosphate binder to be taken with each meal is associated with better phosphate control than usual care. Research Plan: There will be 3 phases to the study. Phase 1: Recruitment of 60 peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. The information generated from this phase will be used to develop the iTouch program for phosphate counting and matching binder number. Phase 2: iTouch program once developed will be pilot tested on a convenience sample of 10 PD patients and modified if required. Phase 3: Randomized controlled trial of 92 PD patients to determine if using the iTouch phosphate counting program reduces serum phosphate compared to controls. Success would be based on seeing a statistically significant difference in serum phosphate as expected from our sample size calculation