Dialysis

Renal failure is classified as acute when the glomerular filtration rate or GFR suddenly drops below 15 mL/min or ceases entirely. In contrast, a gradual decline in GFR below 60 mL/min over a prolonged period indicates chronic renal disorder.

Acute renal failure can result from physical trauma, urinary obstruction, and nephrotoxic chemicals, while conditions like diabetes mellitus and hypertension can induce chronic renal failure.

Among such patients, dialysis can help eliminate wastes from the blood using hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.

Hemodialysis uses a hemodialyzer with selectively permeable membranes to filter small solutes.

Heparin-enriched patient blood is circulated through a tubing immersed in a dialysate solution so nitrogenous substances such as urea and excess ions like potassium diffuse out of the blood.

The cleansed, emboli-free blood is then returned to the body.

The peritoneal dialysis method uses the peritoneum as the dialysis membrane.

A catheter inserted into the peritoneal cavity introduces the dialysate fluid to diffuse out wastes, and the dialysate is later drained out.