Posts tagged: Dialysis

Chronic Kidney Disease, you say? The Renal Project™ brings you some vital information on Chronic Kidney Disease Treatment…The what, the why and the how of it.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the gradual loss of kidney function which causes lasting damage to the kidneys that can get worse over time. If the damage is extreme, the kidneys may stop working. This is called kidney failure, or end-stage renal disease (ESRD). When kidneys fail or stop functioning, dialysis or a kidney transplant is needed as method/s of chronic kidney disease treatment, in order to survive. Kidneys are responsible for filtering wastes and excess fluids from the blood, which are then excreted in urine. When chronic kidney disease reaches an advanced stage, dangerous levels of fluid, electrolytes and wastes can build up in the body. This kind of a build-up of wastes to high levels make one feel sick constantly. It may also lead to a variety of complications like high blood pressure, anaemia (low blood count), weak bones, poor nutritional health and nerve damage. Not just that! If not tended to kidney disease also increases risk of having heart and blood vessel disease. CKD could stem from diabetes, high blood pressure and other disorders and hence needs a wholistic well-being in order to be avoided. Its early detection and treatment often helps keep chronic kidney disease from getting worse. If left neglected, kidney disease progresses to kidney failure, which requires dialysis or a kidney transplant to sustain life, as mentioned earlier.

How will you know that you have CKD in order to prevent it in time and save the effort for chronic kidney disease treatment? Some common symptoms include itching, muscle cramps, nausea and vomiting, lack of hunger, swollen feet and ankles, excessive or unnaturally less urination, breathlessness and/or sleeping issues. If unable to detect in time the kidneys may stop functioning suddenly called acute kidney failure, under which circumstance the noticeable symptoms include abdominal (belly) and back pain, diarrhoea, fever, nosebleeds, rash/es and/or vomiting.

The only ways to know about the level of functioning of kidneys and whether you require chronic kidney disease treatment is to get tested for some renal specific tests like the eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate) test which is a blood test to estimate the level of creatinine in the blood. Creatinine is a type of waste which the body produces and releases into the blood thereafter getting filtered out by the kidneys. A high level of creatinine in blood, signs that the kidneys are having trouble filtering blood. If the eGFR is < 60 for 3 months/more, it indicates a kidney disease. Another test a potential kidney patient may be asked for is a simple urine test to see if there is blood or protein in the urine which could be a sign that the kidneys are not working efficiently. Another simple test indicative of kidney disease could eb a Blood Pressure (BP) Test which indicates how hard the heart has to work to pump blood. A high BP can cause kidney disease, but kidney disease can also cause high BP. A normal blood pressure is less than 120/80 (120 over 80).

To a huge extent the chronic kidney disease treatment depends on the stage of CKD. In some cases, when detected at an early stage, the symptoms may be reversible however if it remains undetected till a later stage the damage caused to the kidneys by CKD is usually permanent and irreversible. It can be tried to keep the kidneys as healthy as possible for as long as possible and prevent further damage. Possible ways to do that would include controlling the blood sugar in case of diabetes, keeping blood pressure under control, following a low-salt and low-fat diet, exercising at least 30 minutes on most days of the week, maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding smoking or using tobacco, preventing/limiting alcohol usage. Prescribed medicines alongside all forms of precaution can help enhance efficiency of chronic kidney disease treatment. For cases of end-stage chronic kidney disease treatment, the usual procedures include kidney dialysis and kidney transplant. In case of the dialysis as a method of end-stage chronic kidney disease treatment, the procedure artificially removes waste products and extra fluid from the blood when the kidneys can no longer do it. In hemodialysis, a machine filters waste and excess fluids fromhthe blood. In peritoneal dialysis, a thin tube (catheter) inserted into the abdomen fills the abdominal cavity with a dialysis solution that absorbs waste and excess fluids. After a period of time, the dialysis solution drains from your body, carrying the waste with it. However, incase of the kidney transplant method of chronic kidney disease treatment, a healthy kidney from a donor is surgically placed into the recipient’s body. Transplanted kidneys can come from deceased or living donors. Prescribed medications will be a must for the rest of the life to prevent the body from rejecting replacement organ. Dialysis is not required to have a kidney transplant.

When it comes to the requirement of home dialysis services in Mumbai, The Renal Project always comes to the rescue! With various centers across many areas of Maharashtra, The Renal Project continues to branch out tapping the areas in crucial need of dialysis facilities.

As per available data, 2,00,000 new cases are added to the existing population of chronic kidney disease each year. A survey published in 2016 by Late Mr. Arun Jaitley estimated a deficiency of about 3.4 crore dialysis sessions in the country which are concerning numbers. It was with the vision to address this issue that The Renal Project was launched by Shashank Moddhia in 2019, after he quit his job with Baxter International, a USA-based multinational healthcare company. The Renal Project provides affordable home dialysis services in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nashik to kidney patients. The idea? To bring excellent quality kidney dialysis within the reach of many untapped area of the Indian geography. Shashank, who holds a Masters degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas, USA, says that during his 12-year stint with Baxter, he worked as a quality manager for the Asia Pacific region, and engaged with 11 countries. He says that he noticed a stark contrast between medical services offered in India versus in other countries such as Malaysia and Philippines. That is where he realised there were many issues surrounding hemodialysis in the country, a major one being its accessibility in rural areas. It is then that The Renal Project was born with its concept of scalable size centers ranging from 2 bed to 40 bed centers want to collaborate with medical facilities where there is a void in availability of dialysis centers and fill the gap. It began with a single dialysis center in Mumbai growing onto now approximately 20 centers across Maharashtra within a year of its conception.

Currently, The Renal Project provides home dialysis services in Mumbai, across various locations, enabling and easing kidney dialysis for patients in need. The facilities provided to fulfil their vision of easy availability of kidney dialsysis include In-center dialysis, Home Hemodialysis & Emergency/Ad-hoc/Temporary Dialysis Set-up. The In-center facility assures 24/7 Patient care with unmatched mobility and experience of certified technician. The Home Hemodialysis revolves around app based convenient appointment booking and payment, and personalized care. The Emergency/Ad-hoc/Temporary Dialysis Set-up facility has been established so that no hospital/nursing home will need to transfer patient due to dialysis not offered. What are the dialysis centers like? A quiet and peaceful environment with world-class patient care, infection control alongside the best consumables & equipment under the care of highly-skilled, trained & courteous staff at highly affordable rates. An ethical work culture with specialized exclusive HHH+ / HHH- Centers & ICU & Emergency Facility, guaranteed. May it be home dialysis services in Mumbai or an In-center dialysis booking at Nahsik, The Renal Project is the solution to all kinds of dialysis requirements.

Kidneys no longer cooperating? The Renal Project has you covered and that too in the comfort of your home.

Healthy kidneys are responsible for cleaning your blood and removing the extra fluid from the body in the form of urine. Upon malfunctioning of the kidneys, dialysis replaces this function. As the kidneys are not able to remove enough wastes and fluid from the blood. This usually happens when only 10 to 15 percent of kidney function remains and leads to serious health issues. The symptoms of kidney malfunctioning may include nausea, vomiting, swelling and fatigue. There may be a chance, however, wherein no such symptom is observed and yet high level of wastes exist in the blood that are toxic for the body. The best way to find out if dialysis treatment needs to be given is by means of some lab tests to check blood toxin levels.

Hemodialysis comes in the form of a saviour for patients whose bodies require assistance with the blood filtration process. It is a procedure in which a dialysis machine and a filter called an artificial kidney or a dialyzer are used to clean the blood. An entrance is made for the same into the blood vessels with the help of a minor surgery, usually in the arm. The dialyzer consists of two parts, one for the blood and the other for a washing fluid called dialysate which are separated by a thin membrane. Blood cells, protein and other important things for the body remain on the blood side as they are too large to pass through the membrane. The smaller waste products such as urea, creatinine, potassium and extra fluid in the blood, however, pass through the membrane to the dialysate side and get washed away leaving the patient with clean, detoxified blood.

The requirement of dialysis treatment and its level is prescribed by the Nephrologist. Timely commencement of hemodialysis and regular treatment sessions work wonders for a kidney patient. But the frequency of visits to the dialysis center to enable this procedure may prove to be a hinderance for some patients in receiving regular treatment due to age or other factors. It is in order to help this category of patients from missing out on their regular dialysis sessions that home hemodialysis services exist.

If both are to be compared then in-center hemodialysis is usually done three times a week for about three to four hours or longer per session according to a pre-scheduled time, while home hemodialysis services require dialysis treatment more frequently, usually 4-7 times per week for shorter hours each time. There are three types of home hemodialysis services that can be performed. A Conventional home hemodialysis service involves the treatment being done three times a week for three to four hours or longer each time. A Short Daily home hemodialysis service is usually done five to seven times a week with the help of new machines designed for short daily home treatments. These treatments usually last for about two hours each. Since the dialysis happens more often, less fluid generally needs to be removed each time which reduces symptoms like headaches, nausea, cramping and feeling ’washed-out’ after treatment. Another type of home hemodialysis service is the Nocturnal home hemodialysis. During this long and slow treatments are done at night while the patient sleeps. This kind of dialysis can be done six nights a week or every other night depending upon the prescription. These treatments usually last for about six to eight hours. It is also a possibility to combine Daily and Nocturnal home hemodialysis services depending upon the prescription and the machine.

Whether In-center hemodialysis or a home hemodialysis service, it is important to maintain the frequency of the dialysis treatment based on the individual’s body requirement, which can be identified with regular check-ups and lab tests.

Hundreds of patients in suburban Mumbai having kidney conditions will not have to travel long distances for treatment as a hemodialysis center has been inaugurated at Mangal Murti Hospital in Borivali. Along with the center, an intensive cardiac care unit and emergency facility will also be available. These were inaugurated by Dr. Yogesh Dube and Dr. Suchit Mahale. The center, initiated by The Renal Project (TRP), will provide dialysis at affordable rates as compared to private hospital rates. The project aims at helping the economically backward class to get access to the treatment without having to burn a hole in their pockets. Here, patients will be able to get their dialysis done at Rs. 1,250, whereas the same treatment in private hospitals costs around Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 2,500. The inauguration is the first step towards building a chain of dialysis centers exactly where it is needed so that ailing and aging patients do not have to travel long distances for treatment, said Shashank Moddhia, Founder, The Renal Project. The initiative aims at reaching out to the remotest areas and helping people and communities who cannot afford high private hospital rates and also aims at opening microdialysis centers on the outskirts of Tier I and Tier-II cities. The motive is not profit but service because that is what the sector demands and is all about. We plan to open around 100 such centers in small pockets of districts such as Palghar, Dahanu, Buldhana, Canacona (in Goa) among others across the country. The goal is to reach maximum number of people in need with the treatment in minimum rates, Moddhia added.