Get access to all handy features included in the IVIS website
- Get unlimited access to books, proceedings and journals.
- Get access to a global catalogue of meetings, on-site and online courses, webinars and educational videos.
- Bookmark your favorite articles in My Library for future reading.
- Save future meetings and courses in My Calendar and My e-Learning.
- Ask authors questions and read what others have to say.
A Practical Approach to Hemodialysis for Canine Renal Disease
Get access to all handy features included in the IVIS website
- Get unlimited access to books, proceedings and journals.
- Get access to a global catalogue of meetings, on-site and online courses, webinars and educational videos.
- Bookmark your favorite articles in My Library for future reading.
- Save future meetings and courses in My Calendar and My e-Learning.
- Ask authors questions and read what others have to say.
Read
Introduction
Although considered the standard of care in human medicine, hemodialysis (HD) as a management option for animals with significant kidney disease continues to have limited availability. Only within the last decade has hemodialysis become increasingly available and it is now offered in many countries. Traditionally, intracorporeal dialytic therapies (i.e. peritoneal dialysis) have been used to manage patients with severe acute kidney disease. However, where available, extracorporeal renal replacement therapies (ERRT) are now preferred due to improved patient outcomes as well as logistical factors (1,2). Although patient size may be a limiting factor, as it employs equipment designed for humans (Figure 1), ERRT hemodialysis is now a successful therapy within veterinary medicine (2).
ERRT may be provided as intermittent hemodialysis (IHD) or continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) (Figure 2). Although they differ in execution, both methods rely on the same physiologic principles. Once vascular access has been established, typically via a jugular catheter, the patient is connected to the extracorporeal circuit. The dialysis machine regulates the flow of blood within the closed circuit, so that the azotemic (“contami- nated”) blood is pumped from the patient and through the dialyzer, where solute and water exchange occurs before the “clean” blood is returned to the patient (Figure 3). The amount of blood passing through the dialyzer is dictated by various factors; during a typical dialysis session, the patient’s entire blood volume may be processed many times (3).
Key Points
-
Modern technology means that hemodialysis is now not only feasible but is safe, efficacious, and indispensable for the management of animals with life-threatening uremia.
-
Hemodialysis may be provided either as intermittent or continuous therapy. In both situations azotemic blood is pumped through a dialyzer, where solute and water exchange occurs, before clean blood is returned to the patient.
-
The movement of molecules across the dialysis membrane is primarily driven by two forces: diffusion and convection.
-
Various factors must be considered when selecting a dialysis protocol for each patient.
-
It is essential to ensure blood coagulation does not occur during dialysis; various methods may be employed to prevent this from happening.
Get access to all handy features included in the IVIS website
- Get unlimited access to books, proceedings and journals.
- Get access to a global catalogue of meetings, on-site and online courses, webinars and educational videos.
- Bookmark your favorite articles in My Library for future reading.
- Save future meetings and courses in My Calendar and My e-Learning.
- Ask authors questions and read what others have to say.
About
How to reference this publication (Harvard system)?
Author(s)
Copyright Statement
© All text and images in this publication are copyright protected and cannot be reproduced or copied in any way.Related Content
Readers also viewed these publications
Subscribe
Access to the content of the Veterinary Focus website is reserved for animal health professionals. If you do not yet have a user account with Royal Canin you can create a free account by selecting the New User form. Subscription to the journal is free and issues in your preferred language can be obtained at the Veterinary Focus website.
Comments (0)
Ask the author
0 comments