HFCH, Marshall Health offer service to help children with acute kidney injury

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Pediatric continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), a continuous form of dialysis for infants and children with acute kidney injury, is now available to patients at Hoops Family Children’s Hospital at Cabell Huntington Hospital (HFCH).

CRRT works by continuously circulating blood from the body through a circuit that performs the functions usually carried out by the kidneys. It is often the preferred form of dialysis in critically ill children because CRRT offers several advantages over conventional dialysis, which is typically performed in three- to four-hour daily intervals. By delivering 24-hour a day dialysis, CRRT more effectively cleans the blood of substances that can accumulate in patients with acute kidney injury.

“Having CRRT available at HFCH means children and their families can remain here in our facility when this treatment is needed, instead of being transferred even farther from their homes and support systems,” said Melanie Akers, director, HFCH.

Pediatric nephrologists Rose M. Ayoob, M.D., and Edward Nehus, M.D., who joined the care teams of Marshall Health and HFCH last year, are working to expand nephrology care to pediatric patients throughout the region.

“This life-saving dialysis device provides such a benefit to our regional hospitals who may need to transfer a child with acute kidney injury to HFCH. They can take comfort in knowing the child is receiving outstanding treatment by our experienced care team,” said Ayoob, associate professor of pediatrics at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine.

Children with acute kidney injury often develop fluid overload, which is associated with increased risk for mortality. Using CRRT, fluid overload can be prevented and treated by providing a way to continuously remove fluid.

“Kidney injury occurs in about 25 percent of critically ill children, with the severe cases requiring CRRT,” said Nehus, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. “By offering CRRT, we are now able to provide children with severe kidney injury the care they need closer to home, and CRRT is often safer and better tolerated than conventional dialysis in children who are critically ill.”