Guidelines for dialysis with reference to COVID-19

• Published in: Indian journal of nephrology 2020-05, Vol.30 (3), p.166-170
• Main Authors: Lobo, Valentine, Khanna, Umesh, Rajapurkar, Mohan, Mahapatra, Himanshu, Verma, Himanshu, Prasad, Narayan, Agarwal, Sanjay, On behalf of Indian Society of Nephrology
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Brief Communication; Chronic kidney failure; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Health aspects; Masks; Peritoneal dialysis; Personal protective equipment
• ISSN: 0971-4065; 1998-3662
• DOI: 10.4103/ijn.IJN_166_20

General Guidelines for Administration[3],[4] State/UT should identify and earmark atleast one hemodialysis facility with adequate number of dialysis machines, trained staff, reverse osmosis (RO) water system and other support equipment as preparatory fixed-point dialysis unit in case of rise of COVID-19 epidemicHealth departments may issue directives to the district administrations allowing easy movements of these patients (with one attendant) to dialysis facility. The information including images for education can be obtained on the International Society of Nephrology website https://www.theisn.org/covid-19All hemodialysis units should educate their personnel in hemodialysis units; including nephrologists, nurses, technicians, other staff and all patients undergoing MHD along with their care givers about COVID 19We recommend that All universal precautions must be strictly followedAll staff should strictly follow hand hygiene (seven steps) with soap and water for 20 s before handling any patient and in between two patients. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed handsMedical and support staff treating infected patients should be monitored for COVID infection at the dialysis facility and should take necessary action if found infectedDialysis units should organize healthcare workers shift duties in a way that work of dialysis unit is not affectedAll hemodialysis units should be aware of the testing, triage, and notification policy recommended by the local health authorities, regional medical councils and the Union Ministry of health and Family welfareSome of the dialysis unit staff should be trained for donning and doffing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) so that they can be used for treatment of COVID-19 positive patientsAll staff should be trained for cough etiquette, hand hygiene and proper use and disposal of mask, gown, and eye glasses and the need to protect themselvesAll patients with suspected COVID-19 be tested as per the local health authorities' guidelinesPatients with suspected or positive COVID-19 should be referred to COVID-19 care team as per local guidelines. For Dialysis Staff a. Screening Area The unit staff should make sure an adequate stock of masks and sanitizers are available in screening area to provide to the patients and accompanying person if necessary. b. During Dialysis We suggest to ensure that a patient and staff in a unit does not become the source of an outbreakEach dialysis chair/bed should have disposa