CDN key terms

A gradual, permanent loss of kidney function lasting three months or longer, staged 1 through 5 by glomerular filtration rate, with stage 5 needing kidney replacement therapy such as dialysis or transplantation.

The volume of blood plasma filtered by the glomeruli each minute, estimated from blood creatinine and used to stage kidney disease and judge how much kidney function remains.

The buildup of waste products such as urea and creatinine in the blood when the kidneys cannot remove them, producing fatigue, nausea, itching, confusion, and eventually problems in many organ systems.

A serum potassium level above the normal range, common in advanced kidney disease because potassium excretion falls; it can trigger dangerous heart rhythms and is managed with diet limits, binders, or urgent dialysis.

A state in which the blood becomes too acidic because failing kidneys cannot excrete enough acid or make enough bicarbonate; it worsens bone and muscle loss and is treated with alkali supplements.

Overactivity of the parathyroid glands triggered by low calcium, high phosphorus, and low active vitamin D in kidney disease, which pulls calcium from bone and damages both bones and blood vessels.

The bone disease that develops in kidney failure from mineral and hormone imbalances, causing weak, painful bones and more fractures; it is managed with phosphorus control, vitamin D agents, and calcimimetics.

A shortage of red blood cells caused mainly by low erythropoietin production, along with iron deficiency and blood loss; it causes fatigue and breathlessness and is treated with iron and erythropoiesis-stimulating agents.

A high blood phosphate level that develops as failing kidneys retain phosphorus; it drives parathyroid overactivity and vessel calcification and is managed with dietary restriction and phosphate binders taken with meals.

A sudden drop in kidney function over hours to days, shown by rising creatinine or falling urine output, often from low blood flow, nephrotoxins, or obstruction, and sometimes requiring temporary dialysis.

A measure of dialysis dose that compares how much urea is cleared (K times t) with the patient's urea distribution volume (V); higher values mean more adequate clearance, with targets set by clinical guidelines.

The percentage drop in blood urea nitrogen between the start and end of a dialysis session, used as a simple check that enough urea was removed during treatment.

A surgically created connection between an artery and a nearby vein, usually in the forearm, that enlarges the vein so it can carry high blood flows; it is preferred because it lasts longest and clots least.

A synthetic tube placed under the skin to join an artery and a vein, used for dialysis access when the patient's own veins are unsuitable; it matures faster than a fistula but clots and infects more often.

A catheter placed in a large central vein with a cuff under the skin that anchors it and helps prevent infection; it is used for urgent, short-term, or last-resort dialysis access.

The findings a nurse checks over a vascular access: a swishing sound heard with a stethoscope and a vibration felt with the fingertips, both showing that blood is flowing through the access.

The portion of already-dialyzed blood that returns to the dialyzer without passing through the body's circulation, usually from access problems or reversed needles, which lowers the delivered dialysis dose.

The removal of fluid from the blood across the dialyzer membrane by a pressure difference, used to take off water weight gained between treatments; the rate is set from the fluid goal and the patient's tolerance.

The estimated body weight at which a patient has neither excess fluid nor dehydration, used to set how much fluid to remove; it is reassessed regularly because it shifts with nutrition and clinical status.

The pressure difference across the dialyzer membrane that pushes water and small dissolved substances out of the blood; it is adjusted to reach the prescribed fluid removal while staying within safe limits.

The fluid made by mixing treated water with concentrated salts and buffer that flows on the other side of the dialyzer membrane, cleaning the blood by diffusion and supplying bicarbonate to correct acidosis.

Reduced blood flow to the hand and fingers because an access diverts blood away from the normal circulation; warning signs include coldness, pain, numbness, and weakness and require prompt evaluation.

A needling technique in which sharp needles are repeatedly placed into the same track in a fistula, creating a scarred tunnel that becomes easier and less painful to enter once established.

A treatment in which dialysis fluid is instilled into the abdominal cavity through a catheter, allowed to dwell so wastes and fluid cross the peritoneal membrane, and then drained out.

A test that measures how quickly solutes and fluid move across a patient's peritoneal membrane during a standard dwell, guiding the choice of prescription and dwell times that suit the transport type.

An infection of the peritoneal cavity, usually from bacteria entering through the catheter, causing cloudy fluid, abdominal pain, and fever; untreated it can mean catheter loss or serious illness.

The period dialysis solution stays in the abdomen before it is drained; longer dwells remove more waste by diffusion, while shorter, more frequent exchanges remove more fluid.

Peritoneal dialysis carried out by a machine that automatically fills, dwells, and drains the abdomen, usually overnight while the patient sleeps, allowing more exchanges with less manual effort.

The remaining ability of the patient's own kidneys to clear waste and remove fluid, which adds to dialysis clearance, helps control phosphorus, and is linked to better survival and quality of life.

Neurologic symptoms such as headache, nausea, confusion, and seizures that occur when blood urea falls faster than brain urea during dialysis, causing fluid shifts; slower initial treatments help prevent it.

A fall in blood pressure during dialysis that causes dizziness, cramping, nausea, or fainting; common causes include excessive fluid removal and eating during treatment, so it is managed by slowing ultrafiltration.

Air entering the bloodstream through a catheter or loose connection, which can block flow to the lungs or brain; signs include sudden breathlessness, chest pain, and collapse, and the patient is placed head-down.

Discussions and written documents in which a patient states goals, values, and preferences for future care, including dialysis decisions, so treatment matches those wishes if the patient cannot speak for themselves.

A person's ability to obtain, understand, and use health information to make decisions; limited literacy calls for plain language, teach-back, and simple visual aids during patient education.

Medicines taken with meals that bind phosphate in the gut so it is not absorbed; they lower blood phosphorus in kidney disease but work only when taken at the correct time.

The degree to which a patient follows the agreed treatment plan, such as attending sessions, taking medicines, and keeping diet and fluid limits; it is supported by education and removing barriers rather than blame.