In
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
, nocturnal dialysis, refers to (renal)
dialysis done at night. It usually is a reference to
nocturnal hemodialysis, but could also refer to
peritoneal dialysis
Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a type of dialysis which uses the peritoneum in a person's abdomen as the membrane through which fluid and dissolved substances are exchanged with the blood. It is used to remove excess fluid, correct electrolyte pro ...
which is typically done at night.
Nocturnal hemodialysis was conceived by the late Dr. Robert Uldall at Wellesley Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
deVeb, George A. "Appreciation: Peter Robert Uldall MB, BS, MD, FRCP, FRCP (C) 1935-1995" Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, (1996) 11: 902-903
retrieved on 2008-06-09. The first patient trained was in April 1994. Conventional hemodialysis consists of a patient traveling to a clinic three times per week for a four-hour treatment. With nocturnal hemodialysis patients are trained to provide the treatments in their home six or seven nights per week for six to eight hours per treatment. There are some scientific studies which show benefits for patients using nocturnal hemodialysis versus conventional treatments, as well as many benefits that have not been studied yet.
See also
*Home hemodialysis
Home hemodialysis (HHD) is the provision of hemodialysis to purify the blood of a person whose kidneys are not working normally, in their own home. One advantage to doing dialysis at home is that it can be done more frequently and slowly, which r ...
Notes
Renal dialysis
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