Hemodialysis is not the only method for the kidney, say Dr. Kalil and experts

Dialysis is considered one of the most successful treatments in the history of medicine. Before its creation, patients with kidney failure had no prospect of survival. Today, in addition to saving lives, technological advances in the machines and products used have significantly improved patients' quality of life.

In an interview with the program Sinais Vitais with Dr. Kalil, Lúcio Requião, deputy director of Hospital do Rim and professor at Escola Paulista de Medicina da Unifesp, and Caio Bastos, specialist at Hospital do Rim, explained the two available modalities: hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Both highlighted that scientific and technological advances have made treatments increasingly efficient.

The two types of dialysis

According to Caio Bastos, hemodialysis is the best-known modality in Brazil. In it, the patient goes to a specialized clinic, where a machine accesses the blood and performs the filtering that would normally be done by the kidneys. "The most famous thing here in Brazil is hemodialysis, in which the patient goes to a clinic and there the patient's blood is accessed to the machine, so the machine can do the function that the kidney does most, which is filtering the blood", explained Bastos.

The other modality, peritoneal dialysis, is less common in Brazil, but equally efficient. In this method, the patient carries out the treatment at home, connecting through the abdominal region to a machine that infuses a liquid capable of cleaning impurities from the blood. "He connects through the belly to a machine that he can actually connect to and the machine infuses this liquid into the belly and this liquid can also clean impurities from the blood", he also detailed.

Lack of knowledge limits the use of peritoneal dialysis
Lúcio Requião pointed out that, currently, 95% of dialysis patients in Brazil use hemodialysis, while only 5% use peritoneal dialysis. Regarding this, Caio Bastos pointed out that this imbalance is largely due to the population's lack of knowledge about the second modality. "In centers that encourage or inform patients that there are two methods that are equally good and that the differences are due to personal preference, the tendency is for more or less half and half to choose peritoneal dialysis or hemodialysis", added Bastos.

In comparison, countries like Mexico reach 30% or 50% use of peritoneal dialysis. Colombia, according to Requião, developed an expansion plan for the sport that has proven to be quite efficient.

National expansion plan
Requião also highlighted that the care network for people with kidney disease, heavily focused on hemodialysis, has reached saturation in its capacity. Hemodialysis requires a highly complex structure, and the construction of a new clinic can take up to three years to start operating. Peritoneal dialysis, on the other hand, allows the patient to be trained in 10 to 15 days and begin performing treatment at home, including while traveling.

"In a country like Brazil, which is a continental country, you have to go to a center to undergo therapy. In the city of São Paulo it is not as impactful, but in the north and northeast, for example, you end up creating gaps in assistance that peritoneal dialysis can cover", the deputy director also highlighted. Faced with this scenario, the Ministry of Health launched a national plan to expand peritoneal dialysis with the aim of increasing its utilization rate from the current 5% to 20% in the medium and long term.

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Source: CNN