Patients who are experiencing kidney failure are, many times, faced with the need to undergo dialysis treatments to rid their blood of toxins. For the most critically ill patients, traditional dialysis treatments are not enough. Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) recently added a new piece of equipment to offer continuous dialysis to patients in the critical care unit.
PMC was only the third medical center in the country to offer the Baxter Prismax System, which is basically life support for the kidneys.
“The Prismax System is state-of-the-art equipment used to treat the sickest of the sick,” explained PMC Director of Critical Care, Josh Damron.
“We put our staff through very intensive training to use this equipment and have brought specialists in from other states to do the training. We are working diligently to make sure we are providing quality care to our most critically ill patients.”
The Prismax System continuously filters and cleans the blood when the patient’s kidneys are no longer functioning, and helps to remove excess fluid from the body. Damron says PMC currently has six Prismax units, but more are available if necessary.
