Frequently Asked Questions

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a treatment for patients with severe chronic kidney disease. Peritoneal dialysis differs from hemodialysis, a more commonly used blood-filtering procedure. With peritoneal dialysis, you can give yourself treatments at home, at work or while traveling. You may be able to use fewer medications and eat a less restrictive diet than you can with hemodialysis. Peritoneal dialysis isn’t an option for everyone with kidney failure. You need manual dexterity and the ability to care for yourself at home or a reliable caregiver.

Renal transplantation is the treatment of choice for a minority of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Most adult patients with ESRD are never referred for evaluation for transplantation, and have a 70% 5-year mortality on dialysis. Marked improvements in early graft survival and long-term graft function have made kidney transplantation a more cost-effective alternative to dialysis. In the United States, over 375,000 kidney transplants have been performed, and in 2012, 191,400 patients were alive and with a functioning transplanted kidney; currently, more than 101,000 patients are waiting for kidney transplants.^[

Chronic kidney disease, also known as chronic renal failure, chronic renal disease, or chronic kidney failure, is a slow progressive loss of kidney function over a period of several years. Eventually the patient has permanent kidney failure.

Childhood nephrotic syndrome is not a disease in itself; rather, it is a group of symptoms that

• indicate kidney damage—particularly damage to the glomeruli, the tiny units within the kidney where blood is filtered
• result in the release of too much protein from the body into the urine

When the kidneys are damaged, the protein albumin, normally found in the blood, will leak into the urine. Proteins are large, complex molecules that perform a number of important functions in the body. The two types of childhood nephrotic syndrome are

• primary—the most common type of childhood nephrotic syndrome, which begins in the kidneys and affects only the kidneys
• secondary—the syndrome is caused by other diseases

A health care provider may refer a child with nephrotic syndrome to a nephrologist—a doctor who specializes in treating kidney disease. A child should see a pediatric nephrologist, who has special training to take care of kidney problems in children, if possible. However, in many parts of the country, pediatric nephrologists are in short supply, so the child may need to travel. If traveling is not possible, some nephrologists who treat adults can also treat children.