| [ Summary ] |
The total number of patients receiving chronic maintenance dialysis in Japan is reported to exceed 320,000 and 97 % of these patients are managed with hemodialysis. Moreover, these patients' cardiovascular systems are significantly compromised due to aging and various complications (diabetes, hypertension and etc.). Consequently, their circulatory dynamics become unstable during hemodialysis, requiring extracorporeal circulation and water removal. A notable problem during hemodialysis is intradialytic hypotension. Although it is generally managed by adequate dry weight maintenance and drug administration, management during dialysis imposes a large burden on medical personnel. Development of technologies which monitor biological information, enabling prediction of shock and paroxysmal hypotension during dialysis, are expected soon. Therefore, we are investigating the possible utilization of laser Doppler flowmeters as one of such technologies. This article describes the principles for use and the clinical applications for laser Doppler flowmeters as shock monitors. |