Demand for Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy Surges as Patients Suffering from COVID-19 Experience Multiple Organ Failure
Chronic renal failure, or renal overload, is associated with a
variety of morbidity and mortality and is a major challenge in the clinical
treatment of patients with chronic renal failure. This disease has no cure and
can be managed with specific medications in an appropriate course of therapy.
However, in patients for whom other therapies have been ineffective or who are
experiencing life-threatening side effects, continuous renal substitute therapy
(CRS) is the only feasible treatment.
Continuous
Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) is a type of blood purification therapy
used in the treatment of patients with acute kidney injury. The therapy is
commonly used to provide renal support for critically ill patients with acute
kidney injury, particularly patients who are hemodynamically unstable.
Emergence of COVID-19 has led to increasing adoption of CRRT as patients with
Covid-19 are experiencing multiple organ failure, including acute kidney injury.
Moreover, regulatory bodies are also focused on approval and launch of new CRRT
devices. For instance, in April 2020, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
granted marketing authorization for a new device indicated to provide
continuous hemodialysis or hemofiltration therapy to critically ill pediatric
patients weighing between 2.5 and 10 kilograms (or 5.5 to 22 pounds).
In continuous renal replacement therapy, a patient’s blood is
passed through a special filter that removes fluid and uremic toxins, returning
clean blood to the body. There are six medical products required to perform
CRRT on a patient that include, blood purification machine, dialysate, replacement
fluid, filter, anticoagulation method, and blood warmer. The goal of CRRT is to
normalize the kidney function, decrease blood acidity and increase fluid
balance. Acute renal failure occurs when a patient's body is unable to
compensate for the loss of kidney function. Chronic kidney disease (CKD)
develops when the body is unable to control or maintain appropriate levels of
fluid balance due to genetic vulnerabilities, underlying medical conditions, or
exposure to toxins or drugs.
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