For the critically ill unstable patient requiring renal replacement therapy St. Joseph's provides CVVH, this is for the patient to unstable for conventional hemodialysis. This is a slow ongoing dialysis procedure that can last several days. The patients blood is drawn out of the body by way of a vascular access ran throught the kidney machine and the the blood is returned by this same vascular access. 1 cup of blood is out of the body at any one time. In order to clean the blood thoroughly it must pass though the kidney machine several times, that is why the treatment takes 3-4 hours.
Peritoneal dialysis is a type of dialysis procedure that is done at home by the patient.
There is no blood involved in this treatment. A catheter is surgically placed in the abdomen and dialysis solution is placed in the abdominal cavity through this catheter. This solution must be drained and replaced 4 times daily 7 days a week. CCPD is a type of peritoneal dialysis that is performed at night by an automatic machine. This requires being connected to a machine about 9 hours while you sleep, making the daytime hours free for many people.