Lives of eight critically ill patients have been saved successfully through Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) treatment at the Meenakshi Hospital, Thanjavur.
Disclosing this to the media, consultant Nephrologist S. Gowri Shankar said that over the past few months, the hospital has successfully administered this advanced therapy and saved the lives of eight critically ill patients.
One among them was a 40-year-old alcoholic and smoker. He was admitted at a critical state with dangerously low blood pressure and high creatinine level.
Further, the patient was dependent on two inotropes, medications that help improve heart function and maintain blood pressure in critically unstable patients.
He was immediately put on CRRT procedure, a slow and steady form of dialysis used in critically ill patients to support failing kidneys while maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance. His hemodynamics stabilised within 24 hours and in next 24 hours the patient began to show signs of recovery, including significant increase in urine output, a critical indicator of kidney function. The creatinine levels which were alarmingly high at the time of admission, had also dropped to a healthy range, Dr.Gowri Shankar said.
Unlike conventional dialysis, CRRT works continuously over 24 hours, gently removing waste products, excess fluids, and toxins from the blood while maintaining blood pressure stability, making it ideal for unstable patients in intensive care.
The CRRT is particularly effective for patients with low blood pressure caused by severe infections (sepsis), heart failure, liver dysfunction, or dysautonomic shock, a condition where the body’s nervous system fails to regulate blood pressure and other vital functions. CRRT, with its controlled environment and external filtration system, offers a safer and more stable alternative in high-risk cases, he added.
Published – July 30, 2025 05:12 pm IST
