Stage 5 kidney failure is the advanced stage of kidney disease. Many people think that dialysis is needed once stge 5 kidney failure occurs. Actually it is not like that. Whether dialysis is needed or not depends on the specific illness condition. Then when is dialysis needed in kidney failure?

The healthy kidneys filter the blood and discharge extra fluids and waste product in our body. Dialysis is a replace treatment that required when kidneys are not able to function at full capacity. But dialysis can be postponed in the following circumstance:

If urine output is normal, and there is no obvious symptoms like swelling, nausea, vomit, poor appetite, heart failure and hyperkalemia and other severe complications, even if creatinine level reaches 700-800ummol/l, dialysis can be postponed.

When dialysis is needed in stage 5 kidney failure?

Patients with high blood pressure, diabetes or SLE and other serious primary diseases should start dialysis. Besides, aged patients should also take dialysis treatment to reduce the risk of complications.

Patients who have serious symptoms like sleepiness, cramps, nausea, vomit, acidosis, heavy swelling, pulmonary edema and heart failure should start dialysis even if the biochemical criterion is not that severe.

Urgent dialysis is necessary in the following cases:

- If the potassium level is higher than 6.5mmol/l, and it can not be well controlled by drugs, then urgent dialysis is needed.

- Patients are suffering from heavy swelling, oliguria, anuria, high blood pressure as well as heart failure.

- Metabolic acidosis occurs and the PH is lower than 7.2.

So not all patients with stage 5 kidney failure need dialysis. I believe you have already get some useful information from this article. If you still have other questions or you want to know other treatment, you can send an email to renal-disease@hotmail.com, the kidney experts will give you a reply within 48 hours!