kt/v

[podpeople]

Hello:
My husband has been on dialysis since last October. He started peritoneal in May. He got on dialysis due to Hydronephrosis. At the hospital (in October)they told us that his right kidney is gone and the left one is recoverable. This month his KT/V  was 5.12.  Kt/v Peritoneal is 0.86 and residual Kt/v is 4.26.
The peritoneal nurse said that this means his kidneys are taking out more bad stuff than the dialysis is and that next week when we meet with the doctor, they have to adjust his dialysis. Does anyone know what kt/v means? His kidneys have improved greatly in one year but i don't know if he will ever get to the point to get off dialysis.
Thank you.

[iolaire]

On HD I was fighting to get a Kt/v over 1.2 (that's the minimum the dialysis centers are supposed to hit).  But many people feel like those levels are the bare minimum and Kt/v is not that good of a measure of health from treatment.

This page says with PD they are seeking 1.7, hopefully another PD person has good advice for you.
https://www.davita.com/treatment-services/peritoneal-dialysis/peritoneal-dialysis-and-adequacy

To me your husband’s levels look good.  I'd guess that less frequent or shorter treatment times are in your future.  I'd be interested to hear back how the doctor will measure the residual kidney function and what they are looking for in order to consider tapering off dialysis. 

Some people do have sort term kidney problems and end up leaving dialysis life. Good luck for that to be in your future.