Dialysis Machine, Water Treatment and Reprocessing
The Dialysis Machine, Water Treatment and Reprocessing domain tests safe operation of blood and dialysate circuits, water purification, conductivity and temperature alarms, and cleaning or reuse procedures.
Core rules
- The machine controls the blood pump, dialysate proportioning, conductivity, temperature and UF; alarms must be verified, not bypassed.
- Water treatment typically includes pretreatment, carbon filtration, reverse osmosis, deionization and UV; chlorine or chloramine breakthrough is a patient-safety emergency.
- AAMI standards set chemical and microbial limits; reprocessing must follow validated protocols and labeling.
- Document disinfection and residual testing; never bypass a failed alarm.
Worked example
A conductivity alarm reads low. Check the dialysate concentrate supply and connections, verify the water supply, confirm the conductivity cell is calibrated, and keep the patient safely disconnected until conductivity is within range. Do not clamp and continue.
Traps
Do not treat a conductivity alarm as a nuisance; do not assume RO alone removes chloramine; do not reuse a dialyzer without verifying rinse volume, disinfectant residual and labeling.