Hemodialysis waters

The most important function, of the kidneys are to clean the body of by-products of metabolism, to eliminate excess water and to regulate the internal environment. The consequence of the inability to eliminate substances is uraemic syndrome, which is caused by a combination of biochemical and pathophysiological disorders, also called uraemic toxins. The elimination of certain substances can be achieved by performing dialysis with an artificial kidney (AMK).

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), infections are an important source of increased morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing dialysis with a mortality rate of 12-38%. Water is a critical factor in the transmission of pathogenic bacteria due to its multiple use in dialysis centers. Usually the problems associated with the presence of microbial infection are not so much due to the microbial contamination of the municipal water supply network, but to the water treatment and distribution system in the artificial kidney units.

Q&Q Analysis Food Quality Services Laboratory, guided by European standards and the instructions of the Ministry of Health, with years of experience in the support of Nursing Units, performs tests of microbiological and chemical pollutants in the water supply of the Blood Purification Units.

Part of the tests performed on dialysis waters are as follows:

• Determination of endotoxins
• Determination of Chloramine
• Identification of metals and heavy metals
• Determination of pH
• Determination of KMnO4
• Determination of Nitrates and nitrites
• Determination of Ammonia
• Determination of Sulfate 
• Determination of Cyanides
• Detection of aerobic microorganisms
• Detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• Detection of total coliform bacteria
• Detection of enterococci