Find a Doctor Medical Traveler Guide Make an Appointment Talk to Doctor

Health Articles

Online Hemodiafiltration: Improves the Quality of Life in Patients With Kidney Failure

Online Hemodiafiltration: Improves the Quality of Life in Patients With Kidney Failure

Kidney failure occurs when your kidneys become unable to filter and remove the body’s waste. The kidneys play an important role in keeping the whole body clean and function properly by filtering the body wastes. When malfunction occur in the kidneys, the waste may go back in the blood and damage your body.

Types of Kidney Failure

Acute Kidney Failure: In this condition, your kidneys suddenly stop working. You will be passing less amount of urine, or may be no longer be able to urinate. Other symptoms may include swollen feet and legs, nausea, confusion, fatigue, back pain, shortness of breath, seizures or can fall into a coma.
Chronic Kidney Failure: The progressive loss of kidney function that occurs over several years. In the chronic phase or end-stage of the disease, the wastes build up and reach dangerous levels in your blood that makes you develop complications like weight loss, irregular urination, anemia, nerve damage and fluid-filled lungs. All of these can lead to severe problems and require a proper Hemodialysis to maintain life.

When to Receive Hemodialysis?

When chronic kidney disease develops into end-stage, kidney transplant or hemodialysis is necessary to improve the kidney function and stay alive. Recently, the most effective hemodialysis technology is called Online Hemodiafiltration (OL-HDF)

What is Online Hemodiafiltration (OL-HDF)?

Online Hemodiafiltration (OL-HDF) is a dialysis technique which combines diffusive and convective clearance of fluid wastes (uremic toxins) that can provide the largest removal of the widest range of molecular size of wastes among available dialysis therapies.

During OL-HDF utilization, fluid replacement is done by further purifying dialysate fluid. Total replacement volume will be higher than 20 Liters per session. Adequate water treatment and a well-organized quality control process are essential to provide non-pyrogenic fluids and have been shown to have enormous benefits such as being a lower risk procedure, reduce morbidity, and may even improve survival. These could result in an improved quality of life in hemodialysis patients.

Advantages of OL-HDF

Improves bone strength and reduces skin rashes.
Decreases hemodialysis inflammation.
Increases middle-to-large molecule clearance compared to the conventional method.
Improves appetite and nutrition; and helps lower the chance of developing anemia.
Reduces hypotension during dialysis.
Reduces mortality and improves quality of life.