Chronic kidney disease
What is chronic kidney disease (CKD)? (1)
Chronic kidney disease includes conditions that damage your kidneys and decrease their ability to keep you healthy. If kidney disease gets worse, wastes can build to high levels in your blood and make you feel sick. You may develop complications like high blood pressure, anemia (low blood count), weak bones, poor nutritional health and nerve damage. Also, kidney disease increases your risk of having heart and blood vessel disease.
These problems may happen slowly over a long period of time.
Chronic kidney disease may be caused by diabetes, high blood pressure and other disorders.
Early detection and treatment can often keep chronic kidney disease from getting worse. When kidney disease progresses, it may eventually lead to kidney failure, which requires dialysis or a kidney transplant to maintain life.
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What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys can no longer do the job. It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure.
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Are there different types of dialysis?
There are two kinds of dialysis. In hemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine and returned to your body by tubes that connect you to the machine.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid called dialysate, which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
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How does peritoneal dialysis work?
A soft plastic tube (catheter) is placed in your belly by surgery. A sterile cleansing fluid is put into your belly through this catheter. After the filtering process is finished, the fluid leaves your body through the catheter.
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There are two kinds of peritoneal dialysis:
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Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD)
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Automated Peritoneal Dialysis (APD)
The basic treatment is the same for each. However, the number of treatments and the way the treatments are done make each method different.
CAPD is "continuous," machine-free and done during the day, while you go about your normal activities such as work or school. You do the treatment by placing about two quarts of cleansing fluid into your belly and later draining it. This is done by hooking up a plastic bag of cleansing fluid to the tube in your belly. Raising the plastic bag to shoulder level causes gravity to pull the fluid into your belly.
When an exchange (putting in and taking out the fluid) is finished, the fluid (which now has wastes removed from your blood) is drained from your belly and thrown away. This process usually is done three, four or five times in a 24-hour period while you are awake. Each exchange takes about 30 to 40 minutes. Some patients like to do their exchanges at mealtimes and at bedtime.
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APD differs from CAPD in that a machine (cycler) delivers and then drains the cleansing fluid for you. The treatment usually is done at night while you sleep.
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What are the pros of being on peritoneal dialysis?
Some doctors feel that CAPD and APD have several benefits when compared to hemodialysis. With continuous dialysis, you can control extra fluid more easily, and this may reduce stress on the heart and blood vessels. You are able to eat more and use fewer medications. You can do more of your daily activities and it is easier to work or travel.
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Valerie, 75 years
The impaired patient
Valerie has established a structured daily routine to successfully incorporate her PD treatment at home. In the last months, arthritis further reduced the mobility of her fingers and her manual strength. Now Valerie has difficulties to break the pin in the y tubing of the twin bag and...
Peter, 75 years
The assisted patient
Peter is a wheelchair-bound retiree living in his fully accessible home. Peter’s two children are working and alternate in assisting their father in his PD therapy. They are also supported by two home-care nurses who take care of Peter during working hours. Peter is worried that his therapy puts an additional burden on his family... (Read more)
Petra, 85 years
The nursing home patient
Petra lives in a nursing home and depends on regular care. Recently Petra was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease and now faces thrice-weekly visits to the hospital to receive renal replacement therapy. Petra prefers to be treated using PD in her nursing home, but due to the additional training and staff associated costs... (Read more)
Chronic kidney disease is an ongoing journey, unique to every single individual.
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The majority of all patients and their family members would prefer therapy in the comfort of their own homes, thereby increasing their quality of life. The risk of infection and increasing age (with all of its associated limitations) however, are some of the reasons why ultimately very few patients choose to perform home dialysis.
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About Peripal
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This is where our Zurich-based company, Peripal AG, comes in. For us, improving the quality of life of our dialysis patients is at the heart of everything we do. Therefore, we developed our medical device through close collaboration with patients to carefully understand their concerns and address their needs.
With the new PeriSafe® assistant device for Peritoneal Dialysis, moderate dexterity impairment, and many other complications are no longer a handicap to perform PD.
With this, patients can continue their treatment at home, spend more time with family and friends, and benefit from more independence and flexibility in their life.
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PeriSafe
The novel patient assist device for Peritoneal Dialysis
Swiss
engineered
The simple and safe way for the connection of Peritoneal Dialysis patients
With the PeriSafe device, more people will become eligible to perform dialysis at home.
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Connecting the transfer set to the Dialysis Bag System is performed inside the protected device, and the open transfer set and Dialysis Bag System are never exposed to touch contamination. The patient is guided through the therapy, and by simply pushing the buttons, the frangible is broken and the dialysis tubes are clamped.
Disclaimer: Please note that Peripal products are only available in Europe.
Benefits
Confident Start
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PeriSafe can help patients to familiarize with the therapy process very quickly. This would increase the patient's confidence and would prevent them from leaving the therapy.
Easy learning
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The standardization and the simplified handling could lead to an easier therapy learning and could reduce the training time for the patient, the relatives and nurses.
Empower patients
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The reliable PeriSafe assistant device, will take the patients by the hand, and guide them through the therapy. This would allow patients, that are not eligible today, to perform dialysis at home (e.g. visual impairment).
How it works
Please contact your physician for more information about Peritoneal Dialysis and PeriSafe.
Further information
If you'd like to read more about the PeriSafe device, click the button below.
See what types of patients might see a benefit in using this device.
We will gladly give you more information about PeriSafe, the patient aid for home dialysis also by e-mail or by phone. To contact us, please click the button below.