Can patients with chronic kidney disease avoid dialysis?

Question

Hi doctor,

My mother is suffering from chronic kidney disease, and her creatinine level is 9.8 mg/dL. She has a history of diabetes for the past 25 years. She is taking Insulin from the beginning. She has hypertension for the past 35 years. Her hemoglobin is about 11.0 gm/dL. Her eyesight has been damaged before four years now. Her urine output is seven to eight times (volume is 1 to 1.5 liters within 24 hours). Can she avoid dialysis and reduced creatinine level? Please help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I have reviewed your query. There are specific indications for dialysis in patients with chronic kidney disease. They include low creatinine clearance, high potassium, patient becoming acidotic, symptoms of uremia (increased urea in the blood), loss of appetite, uremic heart problems and accumulation of fluid in body parts like feet causing edema and lungs causing shortness of breath.

Even if your mother is not experiencing any of the above symptoms, depending on her history of chronic diabetes and levels of creatinine clearance, (I could not calculate exact creatinine clearance for your mother as you have not mentioned her weight, but taking an average female weight of 60 kilograms, your mother's creatinine clearance is very low), she might be considered for dialysis, which can be confirmed by a few other tests and examination done by your physician.

Postponing the dialysis when she needs, it will make her worse. Though she is producing a decent amount of urine per day, she might still be at risk of various uremic complications based on her creatinine values. Get checked with your physician, and it is better to go on for dialysis if your physician advice to do it.

For more information consult an internal medicine physician online.