WEEK 3

Introduction:

WHAT IS HEMODIALYSIS?????

Chronic kidney disease and acute kidney injury cause the kidneys to lose their ability to filter and remove waste and extra fluid from the body. Hemodialysis is a process that uses a man-made membrane  to remove wastes, such as urea, from the blood,restore the proper balance of electrolytes in the blood and eliminate extra fluid from the body.

There are different types of hemodialysis. 

• In-center hemodialysis. 
• Home hemodialysis.
• Daily home hemodialysis. 
• Nocturnal home hemodialysis.

What does my dialysis machine do?

The dialysis machine mixes and monitors the dialysate. Dialysate is the fluid that helps remove the unwanted waste products from your blood. It also helps get your electrolytes and minerals to their proper levels in your body. The machine also monitors the flow of your blood while it is outside of your body. 

How  It Works

Hemodialysis may improve your quality of life and increase your life expectancy. But hemodialysis provides only about 10% of normal kidney function. 

Dialysis has not been shown to reverse or shorten the course of acute kidney injury. But it may be used when fluid and electrolyte problems are causing severe symptoms or other problems. Some people who develop acute kidney injury stay dependent on hemodialysis and will go on to develop kidney failure.

Risks

Most complications that occur during dialysis can be prevented or easily managed if you are monitored carefully during each dialysis session. Possible complications may include:

• Low blood pressure (hypotension). This is the most common complication of hemodialysis.
• Infection, especially if a central venous access catheter is used for hemodialysis.
• Technical complications, such as trapped air (embolus) in the dialysis tube.

Long-term complications of dialysis may include:

• Inadequate filtering of waste products (hemodialysis inadequacy).
• Blood clot (thrombus) formation in the dialysis graft or fistula.