The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Purified water key to treat dialysis

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Monday, Jul 14, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Purified water key to treat dialysis

Main aspect ignored by patients while opting for private clinics

Right method: Pradeep Deshpande, professor and Head, Department of Nephrology, explaining about the water treatment plant at Gandhi Hospital.

HYDERABAD: Scores of patients with end stage kidney ailments succumb to infections like Hepatitis C and other viral and bacterial infections, despite on regular dialysis for survival.

One vital point everyone overlooks while opting for dialysis at various private clinics in twin cities is the availability of purified water, so essential to prepare dialysis fluids.

The Nephrology Department of Gandhi Hospital has a hi-tech water treatment plant exclusively for dialysis patients, which has the potential to rival such treatment plants at other top corporate hospitals in city. The treatment plant, capable of producing over 1,000 litres of pure water in an hour, manufactures water, similar to mineral water in quality.

Kidney experts feel that there is a lot of difference in water purification systems from clinics to clinics.

Some of them even point out that due to lack of legislation and regulation, clinics tend to avoid using water purification systems.

Dialysis solution

The water treatment plant at Gandhi Hospital, custom built with a cost of Rs. 20 lakh three years ago, treats raw water six times before reaching the dialysis machine of the patient.

Electrolytes and other minerals are then added to the pure water for preparing a standard dialysis solution for the patient.

“Good dialysis systems require clean atmosphere, isolation of patients to prevent infections, pure water supply, enough technicians and consumables.

Patients before opting for private clinics for dialysis should check these things first,” says Dr. Pradeep Deshpande, Head of Nephrology department, Gandhi Hospital.

Single session

In a single dialysis session, nearly 120 litres of water comes in direct contact with the blood stream of the kidney patient.

Later on, the pure water is used to prepare a dialysis solution.

“Impure water in dialysis results in inadequate removal of toxins.

This makes the patient susceptible to infections like Hepatitis C. In the long run, this could result in accumulation of chemicals and heavy metals in the blood stream of the patient. Patients should be mindful of these things before choosing a clinic,” says Dr. Deshpande.

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