Peritoneal Dialysis
October 6, 2020 | by Yashaswi Pathakamuri | Posted in Diseases, Nutrition Facts
Peritoneal dialysis is a way to remove waste products from your blood when your kidneys can’t adequately do the job any longer. This procedure filters the blood in a different way than does the more common blood-filtering procedure called hemodialysis.
In peritoneal dialysis the patient’s blood is cleaned within the body, the blood stays in the blood vessels which line the patient’s abdominal (peritoneal) space. The lining of the space acts as the membrane in the artificial kidney.
How is Peritoneal Dialysis Done?
During peritoneal dialysis, a cleansing fluid (dialysate) is circulated through a tube (catheter) inside part of your abdominal cavity (peritoneal cavity). Fluid is pumped into the peritoneal cavity through the “catheter”. Catheter is surgically placed to create an access. The dialysate is slowly passed through catheter. As blood passes through the blood vessels, the waste products and excess fluid are drawn out of the blood and into the dialysis fluid.
The exchange of waste products and chemical balancing takes place in your abdominal lining (peritoneum). A few hours later, when the exchange is completed, the used dialysate is drained and discarded from peritoneal cavity into a bag and replaced with fresh fluid.
Changing the fluid usually takes about 30 to 40 minutes and normally needs to be repeated around 4 times a day.
How is Peritoneal Dialysis Performed?
Peritoneal dialysis is mostly performed by the patients themselves. Peritoneal dialysis is performed in three ways:
- CAPD(Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal dialysis): CAPD is done for 4-5 hours and usually 4-5 times a day.
- CCPD(Continuous Cycling Peritoneal dialysis): CCPD is done several times a night and lasts about (11/2) one half an hour.
- IPD(Intermittent Peritoneal dialysis): IPD is oldest form and lasts about 10-12 hours. It is done three times in a week. Person can work and travel but should avoid physical strain.
In peritoneal dialysis clearance of low molecular weight substances are lesser than haemodialysis. But clearance of some larger perhaps also toxic substances is greater because of the greater permeability of the peritoneal membrane to these larger molecules and the longer duration of treatment. Exchange volumes during Peritoneal dialysis are commonly 1-3 liters each hour.