Can chronic renal failure be cured by dialysis?

Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
Updated on September 10, 2024
00:00
00:00

Patients with chronic renal failure can undergo dialysis treatment to sustain life and improve quality of life. However, dialysis merely uses artificial means to excrete accumulated metabolic wastes and fluids in the body, regulate the internal environment, and simply substitutes for the function of the kidneys. Dialysis has no therapeutic value for renal failure itself. Therefore, patients with chronic renal failure should not expect dialysis to restore kidney function. Nonetheless, as a renal replacement therapy, dialysis can provide patients with a relatively good lifespan and quality of life. Dialysis treatment is necessary for patients with uremia.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
55sec home-news-image

How to test for chronic renal failure?

The examinations for patients with chronic kidney failure are divided into several aspects: First, it is necessary to confirm the presence of chronic kidney failure and assess its severity. This requires blood tests for kidney function, observing levels of blood creatinine and urea nitrogen, and performing endogenous creatinine clearance tests to determine the degree of kidney failure; Second, it is important to determine whether there are complications associated with kidney failure. Therefore, routine blood tests are necessary to check for renal anemia, blood pressure measurements to observe if there is renal hypertension, and blood tests for electrolytes to check for any electrolyte disorders. These patients also need to have their parathyroid hormone levels checked and undergo iron metabolism tests to provide a basis for further treatment.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
49sec home-news-image

Can chronic renal failure be cured?

Chronic kidney failure is irreversible and incurable, with no possibility of kidney function recovery. There are many causes of chronic kidney failure, commonly including diabetic nephropathy, hypertensive nephropathy, chronic nephritis, polycystic kidney disease, etc. These causes affect the kidneys over the long term, resulting in extensive damage to kidney tissues. Since kidney tissues cannot regenerate, chronic kidney failure is incurable and irreversible. Patients with chronic kidney failure still require treatment to control the underlying causes leading to the condition, aiming to slow down the progression of the disease as much as possible, prolong the patient’s life, and ensure the quality of life. This is the primary goal of treatment.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
43sec home-news-image

Can chronic renal failure become pregnant?

Although patients with renal failure are not absolutely unable to become pregnant, pregnancy is ultimately a burden on the kidneys. Pregnant patients with renal failure may experience further deterioration of kidney function and may face numerous complications during pregnancy, such as heart failure, severe anemia, etc., which may pose some risks. However, there are still very rare case reports, including successful pregnancies in patients on dialysis for uremia, but the probability of this is extremely small, and the risks involved are too great. Generally speaking, it is not recommended for female patients with chronic renal failure to become pregnant.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
41sec home-news-image

What should I do about edema from chronic renal failure?

Chronic renal failure often leads to edema, which is a common symptom associated with the decreased ability of the kidneys to excrete water, resulting in significant water retention in the body. There are two treatment options for this disease. First, medication can be used, typically diuretics such as loop diuretics. After administration, the patient's urine output increases, which can help reduce edema. Second, for patients who do not respond well to medication, and in cases where edema leads to heart failure or pulmonary edema, dialysis treatment may be considered. Through dialysis ultrafiltration and dehydration, edema can also be alleviated.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
43sec home-news-image

Is stage five chronic kidney failure serious?

Strictly speaking, there is no condition called "chronic renal failure stage five," but there is a term "chronic kidney disease stage five." Chronic kidney disease is divided into five stages based on the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Stage five chronic kidney disease indicates that the patient's GFR is less than 15 milliliters per minute, which is about 15% of normal kidney function and is essentially equivalent to uremia. Therefore, chronic renal failure or chronic kidney disease stage five is very dangerous and can cause many complications. Moreover, this type of kidney failure is irreversible and incurable, and the patient may need to undergo dialysis or a kidney transplant.