Typical frequency for dialysis is 3 times per week. Why is this? Can any benefit be gained from only once per week?

Currently Medicare will pay for treatments 3 times per week.

Hi:

Currently, three times weekly seems to be the standard for hemo dialysis in North America and most other places around the world.

Doctors generally agree, though, that the more dialysis the better. That�s why home hemo is catching on in many places. Patients then dialyse six or even seven nights a week for seven to eight hours each night. The method has been extremely successful in most cases, with patients reporting fewer problems and more energy overall.

Best,
Mike

Thanks for your responses. I understand better now why the 3 times a week is standard. In the case of my father-in-law, he is going back on dialysis after a hiatus of 3 years. His kidney function is apparently borderline. He really hates having to spend half a day 3 times a week, not to mention the recovery time after each session. We were wondering if he went only once a week, could he get by?

Sounds like home dialysis is worth checking into, but I doubt it is available in our small town.

Normal kidneys work 24/7 filtering out excess fluids and toxins from the blood. So the closer treatments can come to this 24/7 function, the better. Even with "adequate" or "optimal" dialysis (often debated terms), cardiovascular and other complications eventually occur. In the short term, increases in serum potassium levels can result is cardiac problems, some possibly irreversible.

good input so far. Depending on your father's bloodwork it may be possible to do 2 sessions/week instead of 3. I've seen this a couple times, usually with patients who retained some kidney function for fluid but not for filtering toxins (ie PKD). This decision would solely be the responsibility of his nephrologist and would be based on his bloodwork. Keep in mind that this is fairly rare and is subject to change if his condition changes. Typically, more frequent dialysis is better for patients.