Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be

talking to you about dialysis. And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com

slash dialysis or in the renal section of the second edition of the zero to finals medicine book.

And you can find flashcards and questions to train your knowledge on this content

and help you remember the information longer at members.0 to finals.com.

So let's get straight into it.

Dialysis is a method for performing the filtration tasks of the kidneys artificially.

It's used in patients with end-stage renal failure or complications of an acute kidney injury.

It involves removing excess fluid, solutes, for example potassium, and waste products from

the blood, artificially replacing the function of the kidneys.

Let's go through the indications for dialysis.

The A-E-I-O-U mnemonic can be used to remember the indications for short-term dialysis.

A for acidosis, when the acidosis is severe and not responding to treatment.

E for electrolyte abnormalities, particularly treatment-resistant hypercalemia, or erased potassium.

I for intoxication when there's overdose of certain medications,

O for edema where there's severe and unresponsive pulmonary edema with fluid collecting

in the lungs, and Uremia symptoms, or the symptoms of a high urea in the blood, such as seizures or reduced

consciousness.

The main indication for long-term dialysis is end-stage renal failure, or chronic kidney

disease stage 5, with an estimated glomerula filtration rate or EGFR of less than 15.

Let's talk about long-term dialysis.

There are two options for dialysis in patients that require it long-term,

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