Hemoperfusion
Encyclopedia
Hemoperfusion is a medical process used to remove toxic substances from a patient's blood
. The technique involves passing large volumes of blood over an adsorbent substance. The adsorbent substance most commonly used in hemoperfusion are resins and activated carbon
. Hemoperfusion is an extracorporeal
form of treatment because the blood is pumped through a device outside the patient's body.
Its major uses include removing drug
s or poison
s from the blood in emergency situations, removing waste products from the blood in patients with renal failure
, and as a supportive treatment for patients before and after liver transplantation.
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
. The technique involves passing large volumes of blood over an adsorbent substance. The adsorbent substance most commonly used in hemoperfusion are resins and activated carbon
Activated carbon
Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal, activated coal or carbo activatus, is a form of carbon that has been processed to make it extremely porous and thus to have a very large surface area available for adsorption or chemical reactions.The word activated in the name is sometimes replaced...
. Hemoperfusion is an extracorporeal
Extracorporeal
An extracorporeal medical procedure is a medical procedure which is performed outside the body.-Circulatory procedures:A procedure in which blood is taken from a patient's circulation to have a process applied to it before it is returned to the circulation...
form of treatment because the blood is pumped through a device outside the patient's body.
Its major uses include removing drug
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...
s or poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
s from the blood in emergency situations, removing waste products from the blood in patients with renal failure
Renal failure
Renal failure or kidney failure describes a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood...
, and as a supportive treatment for patients before and after liver transplantation.