5 stages of chronic kidney disease

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor I Nguyen Hung - Endocrinologist - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Da Nang International General Hospital. The doctor has 36 years of working experience.

Chronic kidney disease will progress through 5 stages according to the severity of the disease. Accordingly, stage 5 chronic renal failure is the most severe and often requires kidney replacement to maintain life.

The treatment of chronic renal failure in general is mainly medical treatment with drugs, in which diet is the most important, patients need to limit protein and fruits rich in potassium, zinc, and water.
Chronic kidney failure is a condition of gradual and irreversible decline in kidney function including 5 stages, when to stage 5 chronic kidney failure, kidney function has declined very seriously. When patients with end-stage chronic renal failure will be indicated for renal replacement therapy, including 3 methods: kidney transplant, artificial kidney and peritoneal dialysis.
Kidney transplant is taking a healthy person's kidney and transplanting it to someone with end-stage chronic kidney failure, the transplanted kidney will function like a normal person's kidney. However, it is difficult to find a kidney donor and match the recipient, the cost of this method is quite high. In addition, patients also face the risk of transplant rejection and side effects of rejection drugs.

The second method is artificial kidney, for this method the patient needs to go to the hospital 2-4 times a week, dialysis time lasts 4-6 hours depending on the patient's condition. On non-dialysis days, you can return to normal activities. However, during dialysis, patients must limit water, do not eat fruits high in potassium. In case of sharing dialysis machine with other patients, there is a very high risk of hepatitis B and C infection.
The last method is peritoneal dialysis. The peritoneum is a semi-permeable membrane for water and dissolved substances to pass through, so people have taken advantage of this mechanism to filter wastes out of the body. This method is quite simple, patients will be trained in techniques to equip daily at home. Once a month, the patient comes to the hospital for re-examination and treatment. Patients can schedule flexibly, can eat more vegetables and fruits to compensate for the potassium lost in the filtration process, the quality of life is much improved. However, this method always requires a catheter on the person, the infection rate is high, the elderly need someone to support.
As can be seen, for chronic kidney disease, diet is very important. 3 methods of treating end-stage chronic renal failure, the choice of which method depends on the patient's condition and health situation, the patient should be consulted by the treating doctor to choose the appropriate method.