Prof. Dr. Türkmen: Diyaliz hastaları için ekstra önlem gerekiyor

There are approximately 70,000 dialysis patients in Türkiye suffering from chronic kidney failure. However, these patients, who are at high risk for the coronavirus, must leave their homes to receive dialysis three days a week. Experts advise that patients traveling to dialysis centers by shuttle should not be crowded together in shuttles. They also recommend that patients wear masks and take vitamin B and C supplements under the supervision of a doctor to strengthen their immune system. Prof. Dr. Aydın Türkmen, Head of the Nephrology Department at the Department of Internal Medicine at Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, emphasized that the number of dialysis patients in Turkey, reaching 70,000, should go to dialysis three days a week. He stated that chronic kidney failure patients, dialysis patients, and organ transplant patients, who are at high risk for the coronavirus pandemic, require extra protection. Prof. Dr. Türkmen said: “Our country is going through a very extraordinary period. This pandemic poses a particular challenge for chronic kidney disease patients and organ transplant recipients. We have nearly 70,000 hemodialysis patients. We also have nearly 30,000 kidney transplant patients who we monitor as outpatients. Dialysis patients, unlike other members of society, are not easily isolated. They must go to dialysis three times a week to survive. Unfortunately, the number of patients on home dialysis is very small, around 900. Transporting these patients to dialysis centers is a significant problem. Especially in Anatolia, most dialysis centers are in districts. Patients are transported from villages 20-30 kilometers away. It would be ideal for each patient to be isolated and travel individually using their own means. However, there are those who cannot do this. Therefore, dialysis centers must increase the number of shuttles and reduce the number of patients in vehicles. Furthermore, these patients must wear masks. Every shuttle vehicle must be thoroughly disinfected, especially with frequent surface disinfection. It needs to be done well. Our patients should also be very careful to remove all their clothes upon returning home, shower immediately if possible, and wash their hands thoroughly. Hygiene measures are important for everyone, but our chronic kidney disease patients must be even more careful. If diagnosed, the disease is highly likely to progress severely. TRANSPLANT PATIENTS SHOULD NOT CHANGE THEIR MEDICATION DOSAGES WITHOUT CONSULTING THE DOCTOR Prof. Dr. Özcan emphasized that the leading causes of kidney failure in Türkiye are diabetes and hypertension. Türkmen continued: “These two diseases are also very important risk factors for coronavirus infection. We see hypertension in approximately 60-70 percent of organ transplant patients. Both the suppression of the immune system and the presence of underlying conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, which we call comorbidities, make the Covid-19 pandemic more dangerous for our patients. Another aspect is organ transplant patients. We receive many questions about this. Approximately 4,000 kidney transplants are performed annually in our country. We monitor approximately 30,000 kidney transplant patients on an outpatient basis. They are treated with immunosuppressive medications to prevent organ rejection. The medications we use, especially in the first six months after transplantation, weaken their immune systems. We are concerned about them contracting the virus during this period. It's been two weeks since the outbreak became widespread in Türkiye. We haven't had any seriously ill patients, but unfortunately, we have quarantined some transplant patients. Some of them have recovered. Patients who have had a transplant within the past six months should be more careful. They need to have regular tests. That's why they need to go to the hospital. But this is not the case. "We recommend that tests be performed only if absolutely necessary at this time. They should come in, give their blood, and leave. We can contact them later and explain their medication needs and any changes over the phone," he said.