Dialysis Side Effects: A Deadly Discussion Regarding Fevers and Sepsis Among Dialysis Patients

Pyrogenic Reactions: a deadly side effect of dialysis treatment discussion

It has come to our attention over the past few years that the frequency of pyrogenic reaction occurrences among dialysis patients has been on the rise. A pyrogenic reaction is a condition wherein the patient experiences an extremely high fever within 72 hours of receiving a dialysis treatment. These high fevers are caused by extremely large infections and will usually cause hospitalization. While the dialysis patient is in the hospital, they can expect to receive treatment with intravenous antibiotics.

It is very unfortunate that many people who suffer from these high fevers caused by pyrogenic reactions never recover and die within days.

Bio Film Contamination: the source of dialysis side effect infections


The source of the pyrogenic reaction infections is bio film contamination. Bio film contamination is caused by bacteria found in the water contained in a dialysis machine. Below is detailed look at how bio film contamination occurs.

The Makeup of a Dialysis Machine: As you may know, a dialysis machine is made up of yards of plastic tubing and different types of filters. There are two main areas in a dialysis machine: (i) the first area is made up of water and other additives running through the machine and (ii) the second contains the dialysis patient’s blood.

Bacteria Formation in Water: Almost all water contains a certain amount of bacteria. When water becomes stagnant for even just a few minutes, the bacteria begins to collect and form together resulting in small clusters. The small clusters of bacteria will then inherently form a wall of film around themselves to protect from destruction. Contained within this film are the poisons that enter the water of the dialysis machine to pass through the filters and end up in the dialysis patents blood.

These poisons caused by the initial presence of bacteria, the stagnation of the water, the formation of bio film contamination and the resulting pyrogenic reaction are the reason for the infections.

The worst aspect of these types of infections is the fact that the bacterium is injected directly into a dialysis patient’s blood stream. Through this process, the bacteria will get around the bodies natural defense mechanism and is the reason why these types of infections are so very dangerous.

What You Can Do & How We Can Help

If you or somebody you know has had a dialysis treatment and subsequently got a high fever within 72 hours of treatment; we would like to speak with you, even if the patient made a full recovery. Please use the link below to contact us.

http://www.dialysis-side-effects.com - Dialysis Side Effects Resource

http://www.schmidtandclark.com - Dialysis Side Effects Attorneys, Lawyers