Treatment6 connections · 1 source
Kidney Dialysis
Kidney dialysis cleanses the blood of toxins when the kidneys can no longer do so adequately. It is available at specialized veterinary facilities and is substantially more expensive than standard fluid therapy.
Key Facts
- Two types: hemodialysis (machine-based blood cleansing) and peritoneal dialysis (abdomen-based)
- Hemodialysis: 3-5 hours per treatment, 3 times weekly; requires large IV catheter
- Continual renal replacement therapy (CRRT): 24-48 hours continuous cleansing, mimics natural kidney function
- Best candidates: acute kidney failure (poisoning, leptospirosis), ureteral obstruction pre-surgery
- Response rate: ~50% of dogs, ~56% of cats; leptospirosis and ureteral obstructions have best outcomes
- Complications: malnutrition, metabolic bone disease, carnitine/taurine deficiency, catheter infection/clotting
- Taurine deficiency from dialysis can cause blindness and heart-disease in cats
- Do not wait until conventional therapy completely fails; early referral improves outcomes
- Very few veterinary facilities offer dialysis
- Species: dogs and cats