Frequent Dialysis Can Cause Complications to Kidney Disease Patients

Compared with standard dialysis, frequent dialysis can poses risks for kidney disease Patients, according to a study. The complications are related to repeated access to the blood, requiring patients to undergo more repair procedures to the site through which blood is removed and returned.

Frequent hemodialysis requires accessing the blood more often than conventional hemodialysis. This is usually done via a long-lasting site through which blood can be removed and returned. While daily or nightly dialysis seems to improve patients' health and quality of life, it's not known whether it increases their risk of experiencing complications. For example, more frequent access use could theoretically cause increased trauma, more inflammation, and greater exposure to bacteria.

Dialysis - Hemodialysis, Peritoneal Dialysis and Role of Diet and Drugs
Dialysis is an artificial process for removing excess water and waste from the blood. Hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis are the types of dialysis.

To investigate, Rita Suri, MD (Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute, in London, Canada) and her colleagues conducted two separate 12-month clinical trials in which they randomly assigned 245 patients to receive either in-center daily hemodialysis (6 days/week) or conventional hemodialysis (3 days/week) and 87 patients to receive either home nocturnal hemodialysis (6 nights/week) or conventional hemodialysis. Three access events were recorded: repair, loss, and access-related hospitalizations.

Among the major findings:

- In the Daily Trial, 77 (31%) of 245 patients experienced one of these events, with the daily group having 33 repairs and 15 losses and the conventional group having 17 repairs, 11 losses, and 1 hospitalization.

Haemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis Offer Similar Outcomes in Kidney Failure Patients
The results of a recent study suggest that Haemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) may offer similar outcomes to patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

- Overall, the risk for an access event was 76% higher with daily hemodialysis compared with conventional hemodialysis.

- Similar trends were seen in the Nocturnal Trial, although the results were not statistically significant.

Slide Multimedia Animation on Surgical Removal of Kidney or Nephrectomy
Graphical explanation of removal of kidney. This is sometimes necessary for a kidney that stops functioning or if it has a cancer in it. It is a major operation and requires hospitalization for 5 to 7 days.

"Our study is the first randomized trial to show that dialyzing more frequently may have potential harmful effects on the hemodialysis vascular access. This has important implications for patients and physicians considering or performing frequent hemodialysis," said Dr. Suri.

Source-Newswise

Dialysis Efficiency (Kt/V) Calculator
Dialysis Efficiency Calculator or Kt/V calculator is an interactive tool that indicates how well dialysis is working for you and checks if enough water and waste products are cleared from your blood.