What is the Difference Between Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis

The key difference between hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis is that hemodialysis is a type of dialysis that uses an artificial kidney machine to filter wastage from the blood, while peritoneal dialysis is a type of dialysis that uses the lining on the inside of the belly as a natural filter to filter wastage from blood.

Dialysis is the procedure that requires removing wastage and excess fluid when kidneys are not functioning properly. In some medical cases, kidney failure may be a temporary problem. Therefore, dialysis can be stopped when the kidneys recover. However, in other cases, the patient must continue dialysis till a kidney transplant. There are two main types of dialysis as hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Hemodialysis  
3. What is Peritoneal Dialysis
4. Similarities – Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis
5. Hemodialysis vs Peritoneal Dialysis in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Hemodialysis vs Peritoneal Dialysis

What is Hemodialysis?

In hemodialysis, an artificial kidney machine filters wastes, salts, and fluid from the patient’s blood when kidneys are no longer healthy enough to do this work adequately. It is also one way to face advanced kidney failure, enabling the patient to carry out a normal active life despite failing kidneys. In the procedure of hemodialysis, a dialysis machine and a special filter called an artificial kidney (dialyzer) are used to clean the blood. In order to get the blood into the dialyzer, the doctor needs to make access to the blood vessels. This is usually done through minor surgery to the arm.

The filter or dialyzer has two parts: one for the blood and one for a washing fluid called dialysate. A very thin membrane separates these two parts normally. Blood cells, proteins, and other important things remain in the blood of the patient as they are too big to pass through the membrane. But small waste products in the blood such as urea, creatinine, potassium, and extra fluid pass through the membrane. These wastages are washed away. Moreover, hemodialysis can be performed in hospitals, dialysis centres, or at home. Generally, hemodialysis is done three times per week for about 4 hours at a time. Furthermore, with hemodialysis, the patient should take medicines regularly and should make necessary changes in the diet.

What is Peritoneal Dialysis?

Peritoneal dialysis is a type of dialysis that uses the lining on the inside of the belly as a natural filter to filter wastage from blood. During this procedure, a cleansing fluid flows through a tube (catheter) into part of the patient’s abdomen. The lining of the patient’s abdomen (peritoneum) acts as a natural filter and removes waste from the patient’s blood. After a set period of time of peritoneal dialysis, the fluid with filtered wastages flows out of the patient’s abdomen. It is discarded later.

There are two main methods in peritoneal dialysis: continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis. In continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis, the patient’s abdomen is filled with dialysate, which remains there for a prescribed dwell time, and then it is drained. On the other hand, in continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis, an automatic cycler fills the patient’s abdomen with dialysate, allows it to dwell there, and then drains it to a sterile bag that the patient can empty in the morning. Furthermore, peritoneal dialysis is usually done at home and even can be performed when the patient is asleep.

What are the Similarities Between Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis?

• Hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis are two main types of dialysis.
• Both methods are used when kidneys are not functioning properly.
• Both methods filter waste products and excess fluid from the blood.
• These methods give lifestyle flexibility and independence to the patient, which improves the quality of life of the patient despite failing kidneys.
• Diet restriction and regular consumption of medicine are compulsory for a better life even after both methods.

What is the Difference Between Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis?

Hemodialysis is a type of dialysis that uses an artificial kidney machine to filter wastage from the blood, while peritoneal dialysis is a type of dialysis that uses the lining on the inside of the belly as a natural filter to filter wastage from blood. Thus, this is the key difference between hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Furthermore, hemodialysis usually can be performed in hospitals, dialysis centres, or at home, while peritoneal dialysis is usually performed at home.

The below infographic presents the differences between hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Hemodialysis vs Peritoneal Dialysis

Dialysis is the process of removing excess water, solutes, and toxins from the blood in people whose kidneys can no longer perform these functions well. The two main types of dialysis are hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Hemodialysis uses an artificial kidney machine to filter wastage from blood, while peritoneal dialysis uses the lining on the inside of the belly as a natural filter to filter wastage from blood. So, this is the key difference between hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.

Reference:

1. “Peritoneal Dialysis.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
2. “Hemodialysis.” National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Hemodialysis-en” By GYassineMrabetTalk✉  This W3C-unspecified vector image was created with Inkscape . – Own work from Image:Hemodialysis schematic.gif. (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Peritoneal dialysis intl” By Nanoxyde – travail personnel / own work – adaptation internationale en SVG de l'image / international SVG version from picture (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia