Hemodialysis Definitions

Cardiac Output

A 10% increase occurs with placement of an AV fistula or graft

Bicarbonate

A buffer

Uremia

A build up of wastes in the blood that occurs in the last stages of the kidney failure

Brine

A concentrated saline solution in the water system

Thrill

A constant purring or a vibration (not like a pulse)

Gradient

A difference

Concentration Gradient

A difference in the concentration of solutes between two fluids separated by a semipermeable membrane

Solvent

A fluid in which substances are dissolved water

Buttonhole Technique

A higher risk of infection, blunt needles are placed and make tunnels in a fistula

Ischemia

A lack of oxygen i the tissues due to reduced blood flow

Conductivity

A measure of ions in a solution

Total Cell Volume (TCV)

A measure of the volume of fluid the hollow fibers in a dialyzer can hold

Virus

A microorganism that must obtain energy from other living cells, such as the measles or a cold

Diffusion

A movement of dissolved particles across a semipermeable membrane from an area of higher solute concentration to an area of lower solute concentration

Target Weight

A patient's weight without excessive fluid, no edema, and blood pressure is normal from that patient

Dialysate

A precise mixture of treated water and electrolytes/chemicals

Filtration

A process of passing fluid through a filter

Dialysis

A process of removing wastes/excess fluid from the blood of people whose kidneys have failed

First-Use Syndrome

A reaction to a new dialyzer

Bypass

A safety feature of the hemodialysis delivery system, keeps unsafe dialysate from reaching the patient

Transducer Protector

A small plastic caps with filters inside to protect the transducer

Nephron

A tiny blood purification filter in the kidney, made up of glomerulus and a tubule

Creatinine

A waste product of muscle use that is removed by healthy kidneys

Vascular Access

A way to gain repeated entry to the patient's bloodstream for hemodialysis

Retrograde

Against the direction of blood flow

Peritoneal Dialysis

An exchange of dialysate using the peritoneum as the semipermeable membrane

Infection

An invasion of the body by a pathogen resulting in redness, drainage, and/or fever

ADH

Antidiuretic Hormone

BUN

Blood Urea Nitrogen Urea Nitrogen is what forms when protein breaks down

Rope Ladder Technique

Choosing different needle sites at each HD treatment

CKD

Chronic Kidney Disease A slow, progressive loss of nephrons/kidney functions

Reprocessing

Cleaning and disinfecting a dialyzer to be used again by the same patient to save money

Thrombosis

Clotting of the blood in a part of the circulatory system

Electrolyte

Compound that breaks apart into ions when dissolved in water

Mortality

Death, used as a measure of patients outcome

Recirculation

Dialyzed blood coming back through the venous needle mixes with blood going into the arterial needle

Sterile

Free of all living organisms

Morbidity

Illness

Pruitus

Itching due to dry skin or a build up of calcium phosphate crystals on the skin

Biocompatible

Less likely to cause patient symptoms or trigger immune response

Rule of 6's

Less than 0.6 cm below the surface, at least 0.6 cm wide, and at least 600 ml/min BFR

Stenosis

Narrowing of the blood vessels that slows the blood flow in an access

Extracellular

Outside the cells

Steal Syndrome

Patient's with this have hand pain and feeling cold in the access limb

HIPPA

Requires patient's medical information be kept secret

Endotoxin

Shed and released by live bacteria when they die

Scale

Solid particles that settle out of a solution and can clog and hard pipes

Aseptic

The absence of pathogens

Clearance

The amount of blood (in ml) that is completely cleared of solute in one minute of dialysis

Subclavian

The catheters last resort

Systolic

The highest pressure occurs during a heart beat, when the heart contracts

Diastolic

The lowest pressure in between beats, when the heart is at rest

Resistivity

The measure of the force that oppose the flow of electricity through a fluid

Osmosis

The movement of fluid across a semipermeable membrane from an area of lower solute concentration (like blood) to an area of higher solute concentration (like dialysate) until the concentration on both sides of the membrane are equal

Infiltration

The needle tip goes into the fistula and out the other side

Filtration

The process of passing fluid through a filter

Hemolysis

The rupture of red blood cells

Bruit

The sound and pitch of whooshing heard when listening to a fistula or graft

H2O Softener

Used in water treatment to reduce levels of calcium and magnesium

Heat Disinfect

Used instead of chemicals to disinfect some types of dialyzer and equipment

Carbon Tanks

Used to remove chlorine and chloramines from water used for dialysis

Backwashing

Used to remove particles form clogged sediment filters

Product Water

Water that has been forced through a reverse osmosis membrane

Air Embolism

When air bubbles enter the bloodstream

Edema

When extra fluid builds up in the patients tissues

Exsanguination

When the needle comes apart or the fistula ruptures

Blood Leak

When the semipermeable membrane of the dialyzer tears

Hepatitis B

When the virus is hardy and can live 7 days or more on surfaces

Intracellular

Within the cells