Nocturnal treatments offer more options to dialysis patients

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Nocturnal treatments offer more options to dialysis patients
12:19 PM, Nov. 8, 2011  |   Comments

Written by
Sarah Okeson
News-Leader

Gwendolyn Meeks undergoes dialysis three nights a week for about eight hours because lupus damaged her kidneys. / Nathan Papes / News-Leader
dialysis
Like healthy kidneys, dialysis keeps your body in balance. Dialysis removes waste, salt and extra water; helps keep a safe level of potassium, sodium and bicarbonate; and helps to control blood pressure.
Patients typically need dialysis when they develop end stage kidney failure -- usually when they lose about 85 to 90 percent of kidney function. Dialysis can be done in a hospital, a dialysis unit that is not part of a hospital, or at home.
Source: National Kidney Foundation
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The dialysis machine that is used to remove waste and excess water from Meeks' blood at the Nixa Dialysis Center on Oct. 26. / Nathan Papes / News-Leader
Gwendolyn Meeks was lying on a comfortable chair at the Nixa Dialysis Center recently. It was dark outside, and she would be there most of the night.

Meeks, 60, a nurse at ManorCare in Springfield, has undergone dialysis to remove waste and excess water from her blood for three years because lupus damaged her kidneys. Three nights a week she arrives at the center about 8 p.m. and leaves about eight hours later.

"You can sleep here, and most people do," Meeks said. "It makes your day freer."

Nighttime dialysis takes about twice as long as the treatment during the day. Patients' blood is processed at a slower speed while they sleep.

"The goal of nocturnal is to allow them to return to their lives," said Cynthia Shaughnessy, a nurse at the center.

The nocturnal treatment may also have some health benefits. A 2007 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people who receive dialysis at night had a reduced need for blood pressure medication.

Phyllis Buchholtz, 63, of Springfield is another nighttime dialysis patient. She is diabetic and has been on dialysis for more than four years.

Buchholtz said her potassium levels and phosphorus levels have been lower since she started treatment at night. High levels of potassium can cause complications such as irregular heartbeat or heart attacks. Phosphorus can lead to weakened bones.

"I really like the nocturnal," Buchholtz said. "It's been good for me physically."

Fresenius Medical Care, which operates the Nixa facility, also operates dialysis centers in Lebanon, Bolivar, Mountain Grove and Springfield. Fresenius and DaVita Inc. are the dominant companies in dialysis in the United States, treating about 60 percent of dialysis patients nationwide.

In Springfield, CoxHealth operates Ozarks Dialysis Services. St. John's doesn't offer outpatient dialysis.

Ozarks Dialysis Center doesn't offer nighttime dialysis, but Dr. Sai Nayar, a kidney specialist at the Ozarks Dialysis, said nighttime dialysis is something they're interested in offering.

"You need a specific type of patient for it, someone who is willing to spend their nights in a dialysis center," Nayar said.

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