Kidney Function

The blood thinner warfarin can prevent strokes in most individuals with abnormal heart rhythms, but the drug may have the opposite effect in kidney disease patients on dialysis, according to a new study. The results suggest that warfarin should be prescribed with caution in patients with kidney failure. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)

In certain cases, uremia, the building up of waste products in the bloodstream between dialysis treatments, can potentially affect thinking.

Sometimes, a person may experience difficulty remembering things, inability to concentrate and also general confusion. On rare occasions, they may even lose contact with reality or begin to experience hallucinations.

Experiencing things such as seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting or smelling things that do not exist can be very frightening. If this happens to you, it is of the utmost importance to inform your physician right away. It is not uncommon for people who are experiencing these symptoms to be ashamed to admit them because they don’t want to be perceived as “crazy”. However, these side effects are not signs of insanity but rather just byproducts of inadequate dialysis treatments, insufficient medication, or fever and infection. Therefore it should be brought to the attention of your doctor right away so the problem can be addressed.

September 5-8, 2009 38th European Dialysis & Transplant Nurses Association/European Renal Care (EDTNA/ERCA) International Conference “Shaping the future of renal care”, Hamburg Congress Centre, Hamburg, Germany. Visit www.edtna-erca-hamburg2009.com or call +41 (0)43 336 29 50. (Source: Journal of Renal Nutrition)