Hemodialysis meaning

When you begin URR The urea reduction ratio (URR) is one way of measuring dialysis adequacy—how much waste is removed by hemodialysis. If you receive hemodialysis three times a week, each treatment should reduce your urea level (also called BUN or blood urea nitrogen) by at least 65 percent. Kt/V Kt/V, like URR, is a measure of dialysis adequacy. • K = clearance—the amount of urea your dialyzer can remove (liters/minute) • t = time—the duration of treatment (minutes) • V = volume—the amount of body fluid (liters) For hemodialysis three times a week, K/DOQI (Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative) national guidelines recommend a delivered Kt/V of at least 1.2. In continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), the guidelines recommend a weekly Kt/V of at least 2.0, taking into account any remaining kidney function along with the CAPD treatment. In PD, Kt/V is measured by collecting drained dialysate along with any urine you produce in a 24-hour period. URR and Kt/V tests These lab tests are drawn monthly. For PD, the Kt/V is usually done quarterly. Ask your dialysis nurse what your values are each time. If your values do not reach adequate numbers, work with your healthcare team to raise your dialysis dose. Ideal blood flow rate for hemodialysis During hemodialysis, a blood pump is set to a constant speed to push your blood through the dialyzer and back to your body. Your doctor prescribes the blood flow rate. It’s usually between 300 and 500 mL/min (milliliters per m...

While healthy How is hemodialysis done? In hemodialysis, blood is removed from the body and filtered through a man-made membrane called a dialyzer, or artificial kidney, and then the filtered blood is returned to the body. The average person has about 10 to 12 pints of blood; during dialysis only one pint (about two cups) is outside of the body at a time. To perform hemodialysis there needs to be an When a patient goes to hemodialysis, a nurse or technician will check vital signs and get the patient’s weight. The weight gain will tell how much excess fluid the patient has to have removed during the treatment. The patient is then “put on the machine”. Patient with a vascular access (AV fistula or AV graft) will get two needle sticks in their access; one needle takes blood out of the body, the other needle puts it back. Patients with a central venous catheter will have the two tubes from their access connected to the blood tubes that lead to the dialyzer and back to the body. Once the patient is “put on the machine”, the dialysis machine is programmed and then treatment begins. Blood never actually goes through the How does hemodialysis work? The dialyzer is the key to hemodialysis. The dialyzer is called the artificial kidney because it filters the blood — a job the kidneys used to do. The dialyzer is a hollow plastic tube about a foot long and three inches in diameter that contains many tiny filters. (Dialyzers are made in different sizes so doctors can prescribe the best ...

A Abdomen The part of the body that contains the internal organs between the pelvis and the chest cavity. Access A means to get into the body. Accesses to the bloodstream for hemodialysis are fistulas, grafts, etc. Access to the peritoneal cavity for peritoneal dialysis is a catheter. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE inhibitor) Medicine used to treat high blood pressure. ACE inhibitors can also help prevent or slow kidney damage. Acute Rapidly developing; severe; short duration. Acute renal failure A sudden and severe decrease in kidney function that may be short term. Albumin A protein in blood plasma that acts as a carrier and helps to maintain blood volume and blood pressure. Albuminuria A condition in which albumin is present in the urine. There are filters in the kidneys that prevent large molecules, such as albumin, from passing through. If these filters are damaged, albumin passes from the blood into the urine. Albumin creatinine ratio (ACR) A test that compares the amount of albumin in the urine with the amount of creatinine. It is used to detect whether albuminuria is present. Allograft An organ or tissue transplant from one person to another. Alport syndrome An inherited condition that results in kidney disease. It generally develops in childhood and is more serious in boys than in girls. Ambulatory Able to walk; movable. Analgesic-associated kidney disease A condition in which there is a loss of kidney function due to long-term use of analgesic (pain...

Kidney dialysis is a treatment that can help you live well with ESRD. • Dialysis can perform regular functions that your kidneys are no longer able to perform themselves. • Dialysis helps to keep your body’s potassium, phosphorus, and sodium levels balanced. • Dialysis empowers you to live a full, active life with kidney failure. • There are 2 types of kidney dialysis: • More and more people are choosing home dialysis, which can offer greater flexibility and better outcomes. • The best dialysis option for you is the one that best fits your lifestyle and health needs. • Many people switch dialysis types to fit a changing lifestyle at some point during long-term treatment. With hemodialysis, your treatment length and frequency depends on your doctor’s prescription and where you receive your treatment: • Home hemodialysis can be done 5–6 days a week for 2 1/2 to 3 hours each, 3 days a week for 3–5 hours, or for 6–8 hours while you sleep every night or every other night. You may also require longer treatments or a different weekly number of treatments, depending on your unique condition. • In-center hemodialysis is typically done 3 times a week for 3–5 hours during the day or 8 hours for nocturnal hemodialysis. With peritoneal dialysis, the length of treatment will depend on whether you choose continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) or automated peritoneal dialysis (APD): • CAPD treatments are done manually, without a machine, about 3–5 times per day. • APD uses a mac...

Start of Dialysis Before dialysis begins, 2 needles will be inserted into the vascular access, one to remove the blood and the other to return cleansed blood to the body. The patient is connected (via tubing) to the dialysis machine through a vein in the arm, the blood is pumped from the body to a special filter (dialyser), which is made of tiny capillaries. During Dialysis Blood is continuously pumped through the dialyser, where waste products and excess water are removed. The blood becomes purified when the waste products diffuse from the blood across the membrane of these tiny capillaries in the dialyser. Purified blood is then returned to the patient’s body through larger tubes. Dialysis Frequency Haemodialysis is performed thrice a week at the dialysis centre, with each session lasting about 4 hours, depending on the body size and medical condition. At NKF, patients choose between 2 sessions i.e. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. They can also choose the morning, afternoon or evening timeslot. Doctor will guide and decide when it’s time to start dialysis, which is mainly based upon symptoms, the test results (which reflects the function of kidneys and complications due to failing kidneys) and overall health. Prior to HD initiation, a surgery, for creating an access, is required to prepare a blood vessel for attachment to the machine. There are three different types of access: • Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) • Arteriovenous graft (AVG)...

Dialysis treatment replaces the function of the kidneys, which normally serve as the body's natural filtration system. Through the use of a blood filter and a chemical solution known as dialysate, the treatment removes waste products and excess fluids from the bloodstream, while maintaining the proper chemical balance of the blood. There are two types of dialysis treatment: hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Purpose Hemodialysis is the most frequently prescribed type of dialysis treatment in the United States. The treatment involves circulating the patient's blood outside of the body through an extracorporeal circuit (ECC), or dialysis circuit. Two needles are inserted into the patient's vein, or access site, and are attached to the ECC, which consists of plastic blood tubing, a filter known as a dialyzer (artificial kidney), and a dialysis machine that monitors and maintains blood flow and administers dialysate. Dialysate is a chemical bath that is used to draw waste products out of the blood. Since the 1980s, the majority of hemodialysis treatments in the United States have been performed with hollow fiber dialyzers. A hollow fiber dialyzer is composed of thousands of tube-like hollow fiber strands encased in a clear plastic cylinder several inches in diameter. There are two compartments within the dialyzer (the blood compartment and the dialysate compartment). The membrane that separates these two compartments is semipermeable. This means that it allows the passage o...

Hemolysis is the medical term used to describe the destruction of red blood cells. Your body is constantly destroying old or damaged red blood cells and replacing them with new ones. Red blood cell destruction is a normal, healthy process. But sometimes, red blood cells get destroyed too soon, causing you to have too few red blood cells. This results in a condition called hemolytic anemia. Overview What is hemolysis? Hemolysis is the destruction of Your body continually destroys old or damaged red blood cells and creates new ones as replacements. This constant cycle of destruction and creation ensures you have enough red blood cells. Sometimes, red blood cells get destroyed too quickly, before your body has time to replace them. The process of red blood cell destruction — including premature red blood cell destruction — is called hemolysis. Having too few red blood cells because of hemolysis causes a condition called Why does hemolysis occur? The destruction of red blood cells typically frees up space for new, healthy red blood cells. The average red blood cell lives for 120 days. As the old cells age, they expose certain signals that lead to an organized destruction of the aging cell in your spleen. Your Your body makes new blood cells in the spongy tissue inside of your bones called bone marrow. The new red blood cells get released into your bloodstream. Sometimes, problems related to a cell’s structure or components shorten its lifespan. External factors can also damage...

In-center hemodialysis—dialysis scheduled during the day, with multiple sessions per week, based on the frequency and length prescribed by your doctor. Nocturnal hemodialysis—also known as overnight dialysis, scheduled for 8-hour intervals overnight, usually around 3 times a week. Ask if your kidney dialysis center offers this option. In-center hemodialysis is performed in a kidney dialysis center, with the supervision and support of a Here are some considerations for choosing in-center hemodialysis: • You'll have the reassurance of staff-assisted treatment. • You can ask questions face-to-face whenever you're there. • All your treatments, labs and checkups will be in 1 place. • You'll be around other people receiving similar treatment.