2013年5月26日

腎戰危機 ──全民防治腎臟病 Land of Dialysis? Kidney Disease in Taiwan

2005 年6月第088頁

腎戰危機 ──全民防治腎臟病

文•張瓊方 圖•紀秋吉





含有圖片的版本(適合較高頻寬用戶) 未含圖片的版本(適合低頻寬用戶)

根據台灣腎臟醫學會的統計,2002年台灣末期腎臟病的盛行率高居世界第二位,平均每650人中就有1人洗腎,發生率更是全球第一,每年增加8000多人。
2003年國人十大死因中,腎炎、腎徵候群及腎變性病則名列第八位,當年因此死亡的人數達4306人。腎臟病已然成為台灣的「新國病」。為何如此?又該怎麼防治?
清晨7時,街道上還靜悄悄的,位於台北市八德路上的安德聯合診所就開始忙碌起來,老先生、老太太在兒女的陪伴下,走進隱身大樓中的洗腎中心。
安德聯合診所有60床洗腎病床,分早、中、晚3班,從早上7點開始到晚上十點半,川流不息地為一百多位洗腎病患做血液透析。和一般洗腎中心一樣,洗 早班的通常是年紀較大的老人家;洗中班的病人比較少,通常是兼差或非固定工時的病人;洗晚班的多是上班族,下了班就提著公事包來報到。
令人驚訝的是,洗腎中心裡的氣氛一派輕鬆,有人閉目養神,有人邊洗邊看書、看電視,還有人一邊洗腎,一邊吃便當......。

三班制洗腎

為了因應總數高達四萬多名的台灣洗腎病友的需求,堪稱全國規模最大的林口長庚醫院洗腎中心,180床洗腎病床,一個月能洗一萬人次。台北市則以新光醫院的80床規模最大。
除了醫學中心、區域醫院外,台灣中小型洗腎診所林立。根據中華民國腎臟基金會的統計,目前全台共有429家洗腎中心,一萬一千多台洗腎用的人工腎臟,堪稱台灣奇景。
洗腎是末期腎病患者替代腎臟功能、維持生命的一種療法。說是洗腎,其實洗的不是腎,而是血液,因此又名「血液透析」。
一般來說,病人一次療程平均為4至4.5小時。安德診所醫師楊夢儒指出,目前洗腎技術提昇,排毒和淨化血液的功能比以前好,但與24小時全年無休的 腎臟相比仍有差距。洗腎時間長短攸關洗腎的品質和存活率,只要洗的時間夠長、次數足夠,存活二、三十年幾乎不成問題。以安德聯合診所兩百八十多位病人為 例,目前最「資深」的已經有將近30年的洗腎史,洗腎時間超過15年的也有70位。
39歲開始洗腎的遲淑玉,洗腎已屆15年。和多數洗腎病人一樣,遲淑玉當年也無法接受自己要洗腎的事實,四處尋求偏方,每天過著暈頭轉向、噁心、食慾不振、彷彿重感冒的日子,拖了一年多,直到身體水分無法排除導致肺積水,才不得不面對現實。
「那時候我每天怨天尤人,宛如世界末日,」遲淑玉回想開始洗腎時,動手術造動靜脈廔管、躺在洗腎病床上看著血液從自己體內抽離出來......,那 種打從心底無法接受的感覺,外人實在很難體會。第一、二年,除了心情沮喪,身體上也不太適應,整天腦袋昏昏,再加上洗腎時體內水分會被抽得很乾,導致嚴重 的便秘,使得她生活作息大受影響。

宛如重生

洗腎七、八年後,遲淑玉才真正走出陰霾,恢復工作,復歸社會。五十多歲、至今未婚的她,每天打扮得光鮮亮麗,白天她是金寶山企業的業務員,為顧客們 處理將來的「身後事」,下了班的二、四、六晚上,則固定到洗腎中心報到,靠血液透析來維持自己的生命。「我不說,沒有人看得出我是洗腎病人,」她笑著說。
在船務公司擔任業務部副總的康燦裕,取得老闆的諒解,二、四、六的下午固定到光復南路上的秀傳洗腎中心報到。他表示,雖然洗腎時躺在那裡感覺很無 助,偶而還會有血壓下降、小腿抽筋(人體短時間內流失過多水分導致)等不舒服的症狀,洗腎後水分、毒素排除所造成的「不平衡症候群」,讓人宛如剛跑完一場 激烈的馬拉松,感覺虛脫、疲累,必須睡一覺起來才會有精神。但康燦裕的心態較健康,已能接受這個病要跟著自己一輩子的事實,「我覺得自己這條命是靠現代科 技撿回來的,所以比以前更加珍惜,」康燦裕說,他生病前整天應酬,如今生活正常,菸酒都戒了,太太反倒不用擔心他,一家人的感情也更好了。

進步的指標

像遲淑玉、康燦裕這樣靠洗腎來維持生命的,全台灣有四萬多人,而且以每年新增八千多位的速度不斷攀升。榮總腎臟科主任、前台灣腎臟醫學會理事長楊五常估計,到2015年,台灣的洗腎人口可能增加到7萬人左右。
「這是全世界的趨勢,」楊五常指出,人口老化、洗腎病人存活率提升是現代醫療進步的指標,但也因此,世界各國都在為洗腎的龐大支出而傷透腦筋。
以我國為例,洗腎病人一人一年平均花費六十多萬元洗腎費用健保為此給付的費用一年高達兩百三十多億(佔給付總額的6.18%),是重大傷病項目中最大宗的支出,對健保局來說負擔越來越沈重。
這也正是洗腎與一般醫療行為最大的差異所在:一般疾病若治療成功,可以減少後續資源的耗費,但洗腎一洗就是一輩子,照護品質越提升,病患平均餘命延長,卻反倒要耗費更多的醫療資源,甚至成為健保「不可承受之重」。
台灣如此,對歐美先進國家來說,情況同樣嚴重。面對此一龐大的醫療支出,英國學界和醫界不斷爭論洗腎應該洗到幾歲為止?甚至還有人主張,65歲以上應終止洗腎給付,只是在人道、人權上爭議太大,無人敢做進一步探討。

「一人洗腎全家哭」

雖說洗腎人口增加是世界趨勢,但台灣竄升速度之快,堪稱世界第一,卻也透露出值得重視的訊息。
台灣洗腎的盛行率(某一時間點的透析人數)為百萬分之1548人,換句話說,每650人就有一個人洗腎,目前僅次於日本,高居世界第二名。至於台灣洗腎的發生率(一年間新增加的病人數)為百萬分之365人,等於一年增加八千多人,更在2002年超越美國,躍居世界第一位。
近年台灣洗腎人口的竄升,其實是拜全民健保實施之賜。
創辦於民國72年的中華民國腎臟基金會,是腎臟病友團體。從「一人洗腎全家哭」的請願年代,帶領腎友一路辛苦走過來的秘書長張書光感觸最深。
回顧當年,張書光指出,洗腎這種「腎臟替代療法」引進台灣不過四十多年。民國52年,台大腎臟學泰斗陳萬裕教授引進血液透析治療,當時設備昂貴,費用龐大,加上社會保險尚未建立,多數尿毒症患者無福消受這種高科技的治療。
「當時台灣國民平均年所得只有3000美元,一般人每月的薪水只有一萬多元台幣,尿毒症患者為了籌措每個月五、六萬元的洗腎費用,幾乎是傾家蕩產,更多人則是自我放棄,任憑尿毒引發器官衰竭而過世,」張書光說。

費用普及化

民國84年健保實施後,洗腎納入健保給付,對台灣的腎病末期病人來說,是一大福音。
相較於鄰近的新加坡(洗一次約五千多元台幣)、香港(一次約7000元)等地的自費洗腎,目前台灣的洗腎可謂物美價廉(一次由健保給付4200元),「近年台灣洗腎的普及化,使得病人不僅維持生命,還能回歸社會、正常生活,」張書光說。
一方面經濟障礙破除,使得過去付不起洗腎費用的病患得以接受治療,將過去隱藏的洗腎人口檯面化;另一方面,洗腎品質提升,存活率增加,也使得洗腎的人口越來越多。
從洗腎病人的存活率和住院率,可以看出台灣洗腎品質的提升。
楊五常指出,台灣的洗腎病人住院率並沒有確切的統計數字,但根據榮總、高醫和新光幾家醫院所做的研究,糖尿病的洗腎病人一年平均住院1.1次;非糖尿洗腎病人則只有0.5次;住院天數分別為8天和7天,表示大部分患者並沒有出現併發症或身體機能惡化的現象。
從死亡率來看,楊五常指出,洗腎第一年的死亡率最高,台灣約15%,美加地區更高達25%;洗腎5年以後平均每年的死亡率,台灣為9%,高於日本的7%,但比歐洲的10%、美國的15%低。
究其原因,楊夢儒指出,美國洗腎病人透析時間短(每次3至3.5小時),病人的體型又比東方人高大,因此效率較差,死亡率也就隨之增加。楊五常則認為,死亡率可能與人種差異有關。

不要的世界第一

「台灣洗腎盛行率高是值得稱許的,」楊五常解釋,除了全民健保實施外,人口老化,糖尿病、心血管疾病的死亡率下降、洗腎存活率增加等原因,也都導致 我國洗腎的盛行率高升,這是醫療進步的表徵。然而要注意的是,「洗腎的發生率卻不應該增加,」楊五常說:「台灣洗腎的發生率高居世界第一位是沒有道理 的。」
洗腎發生率的增加,與「次發性」病人增加有關。
據估算,洗腎病人中屬於原發性腎臟疾病者約佔4成,人數大致維持穩定;但因糖尿病、高血壓等疾病牽連導致洗腎的「次發性」比例,近年卻越來越高。(non-conclusive)
林口長庚醫院腎臟科教授兼毒物科主任林杰樑表示,此一現象反映出醫師的照護和病人保健常識不足的問題。
以糖尿病、高血壓為例,由於早期症狀不明顯,病人很容易掉以輕心,但如果沒有做好衛教和控制,長期的高血壓會破壞腎臟的微細血管,糖尿病患的末稍微血管也會逐漸硬化,破壞腎臟功能,導致尿毒症。
此外,台灣的醫生開藥、病人用藥都不夠小心謹慎。像止痛藥、退燒藥、非類固醇消炎藥劑、電腦斷層掃瞄及血管攝影檢查時常用的顯影劑等等,都會對腎臟造成負擔。林杰樑指出,普拿疼和阿斯匹靈混用會導致腎臟受損,各國醫界都嚴禁混用,在台灣卻沒有限制。
楊五常也指出,非類固醇消炎藥會抑制前列腺素賀爾蒙的分泌,造成腎臟血管的收縮而影響血液循環,如果服藥期間水分攝取不足,很容易損害腎功能。可怕 的是,除了民眾小病痛時習慣隨手買成藥服用外,國內很多醫師開消炎止痛藥一開就是十天、半個月,完全沒有追蹤腎功能,也沒有告知病人可能的風險。他認為, 各不同專科間缺乏交流學習和問題意識,才會讓做為身體最後排毒防線的腎臟成了「替死鬼」。
西藥的濫用之外,特別值得一提的是台灣的特殊情況──服用中藥導致腎衰竭,即所謂的「中藥腎病」。新光醫院前年在第18屆生物醫學聯合學術年會中提出的「中藥腎病」報告,推測馬兜鈴酸是引起中藥腎病的主要原因
新光醫院針對該院洗腎及換腎病患的腎切片研究發現,28%為糖尿病併發症、27%為中藥腎病;而病人提供的25個中藥檢體中,高達8成驗出含有早已被列為禁藥的馬兜鈴酸。
林杰樑也指出,台灣B型肝炎人口較多,有人服用中藥「龍膽瀉肝湯」導致馬兜鈴酸中毒,不到一年就要洗腎了。

一腎難求

一般人聽到洗腎總是能逃就逃,恐懼的是一日洗腎就得終身洗腎。事實上,的確是如此。
台北秀傳醫院洗腎中心醫師蔡明宏指出,洗腎目的在維持生命,並不能挽救腎臟,而且即使透析了4小時,也只能達到正常腎臟的功能1/12而已,因此,洗腎病人等於長年處在體內毒素偏高的風險中,需要靠運動和飲食控制來輔助。
腎功能替代療法都只能治標,真正要治本,恢復腎臟的功能,唯有腎臟移植一途。
一般來說,換腎的存活率較高,生活品質也比洗腎好。楊五常指出,換腎初期因免疫力低,感染的危險性較高,死亡率相對較高,但3個月以後死亡率就和洗腎相當,到第8個月,換腎的死亡率較洗腎低25-30%。
換腎存活率高,所耗費的醫療資源也較少。一年以後,換腎者所需的醫療費用比洗腎少一半。
「經濟上許可的話,我鼓勵病人換腎,」楊五常指出,台灣目前等待換腎的洗腎病人有四、五千人。
然而,現階段腎臟移植的問題並不比洗腎少。
首先必須要有器官來源。台灣器官捐贈的風氣不盛,一年大約只有3%的洗腎病人可以換腎,相較於美國的15-20%、西班牙的30-40%,確實是明顯地偏低。
器官來源不足,再加上必須經過白血球組織抗原配對,誰的條件符合,可以說要憑運氣。然而,就算幸運地等到腎臟移植,後續還必須終身服用抗排斥藥,而抗排斥藥降低人體免疫力的副作用,又增加了換腎者感染及罹患癌症的風險。有些換腎者甚至得再度回去洗腎。
一位每個月靠吃止痛藥來度過月經疼痛的女性,年紀輕輕就腎功能衰竭,必須洗腎度日。十幾年前她幸運地配對成功得以換腎,雖然幾度因感染進出醫院,但 總算獲得較好的生活品質。沒想到換腎10年後,腎臟又不行了,醫生建議她再回來洗腎,但她始終抗拒,不願意再過洗腎的日子,最後病情惡化,去世時還不到 40歲。

難以承受之重?

前些日子,競爭激烈的洗腎中心為招攬病人,推出專車接送、洗腎送禮品等優惠,因而有人批評台灣洗腎太過隨便,甚至懷疑醫生有「鼓勵」病患洗腎以換取健保給付的嫌疑。事實上,台灣洗腎標準訂得比美國還要嚴格。在嚴格的標準下,就算已達洗腎標準,病人一開始仍舊抗拒。
「我幾乎沒有看過任何病人是心甘情願洗腎的,」楊夢儒說,所有病人聽到醫生說自己已達洗腎條件時,第一件事不是準備洗腎的廔管,而是去找偏方、中草藥,一直拖到肺水腫、酸中毒,或尿毒素太高陷入昏迷時才緊急送醫。
對於洗腎耗費太多醫療資源的指責,楊五常有話要說。
「死亡是降低慢性重症病患醫療費用的唯一方法,但是誰能判洗腎病人死刑?」楊五常質疑,重症或臨終急救的呼吸照護一年同樣耗費健保兩百多億元,相較之下,6成以上的洗腎病人都能正常工作,具有生產力。用兩百多億元來維持四萬多個家庭的正常生活,難道不值得嗎?
問題的答案當然是斬釘截鐵的「Yes」,但這不應該是討論的重點,如何減少洗腎病人的發生,才是大家應該努力的方向。

http://www.taiwan-panorama.com/show_issue.php?id=200569406088C.TXT&table=1&cur_page=1&distype=text

養成良好生活習慣 可避免洗腎危機

文林家瑜
在洗腎室服務半年多的時間,看到洗腎病患總是讓我感觸良多,因為每兩天我就會服務相同的病患一次,而一週有3次的時間我們都會見面。
病患就像捐血一樣,每次都會準時來洗腎,而且還必須提早來排隊搶位子,有時稍微晚到,就必須等1、2個小時才能洗腎,也因此他們常是早上6點多就來排隊, 有時甚至比我的上班時間還早。看到他們每次如此「辛苦」地洗腎,而且每次都要3、4個小時,我便會告訴自己要好好地保護自己的腎臟。(洗腎真是很可憐啊,人生就此開始灰暗了。)
在服務病患的過程中,我都會和他們閒話家常,瞭解他們洗腎的原因,除了先天性的遺傳病外,最多的還是因為年輕時沒有好好的保護腎臟所致,像是工作時憋尿、 少喝水、晚上熬夜不睡覺,或是食用多鹽、多糖、多油的食物等,而有少部分的病患則是因為聽信偏方服用來路不明的藥物,結果腎臟不堪負荷而必須洗腎。(這些都不是真正造成洗腎的原因所在,台灣人愛亂吃西藥跟維他命,這才是造成腎臟衰竭的主要原因啊。)
洗腎的原因林林總總,但大部分都是可以預防和避免的,像是多喝水、多吃蔬菜、不熬夜、不憋尿、不抽菸和喝酒等等,更重要的是,不要聽信偏方和服用來路不明的藥物。如果大家都能有良好的生活習慣,才會減少腎臟出問題的機率,也才能避免洗腎。(要避免洗腎,唯一的方式就是不要再吃西藥與維他命了。)
洗腎的歲月是漫長的,而且必須等到有人捐贈才能脫離洗腎的日子,期盼大家都能保護好自己的腎臟。(作者為淡水公祥醫院洗腎室護士)
評論
    我在美國臨床多年, 美國每天約又數十萬人在洗腎,而造成腎臟衰竭的原因千篇一律的都是吃西藥與維他命,沒有人吃偏方或是來路不明的藥物,在美國不會有來路不明的藥物,只有台 灣才有,所以洗腎原因非常明確的是西藥廠造成的惡果,民眾如果已經在洗腎,可以就近找馬路邊的中醫來治療,治不好腎臟病衰竭的病人不是真正的中醫,除非你的腎臟已經完全被西藥破壞掉,才須要換腎臟,否則都有希望恢復過來,大家不要失去信心,現在腎臟還正常的民眾,請立刻停止吃西藥與維他命,這樣你就不會得到腎臟衰竭了。
http://www.hantang.com/chinese/ch_Articles/kidney35.htm

腎臟衰竭 秀傳醫院
血液透析中心提供

  當腎臟無法行使正常功能時,會導致廢物(毒素)和水份堆積在體內,此時稱之為 " 腎衰竭 " 。腎衰竭可分為急性和慢性兩種。
急性腎衰竭 (ARF)
急性腎衰竭可發生在失血過多、嚴重腎臟感染或其他各種腎臟疾病時,腎臟會突然失去正常功能,但通常在治療後可恢復正常。
慢性腎衰竭 (CRF)
慢性腎衰竭意指腎臟組織已損壞了一段相當長的時間──通常是數月或數年,許多人在剛開始未能察覺,直到腎臟受損已超過百分之十七以上才被發覺。即使早期發現(由血液或尿液檢查),通常也無法治療,但早期治療(飲食及藥物)可以減緩發展為末期腎臟病的速度。
引起慢性腎衰竭的原因:
    1.腎絲球腎炎
    2.糖尿病
    3.高血壓──因高血壓引起的腎損傷
    4.多囊腎──腎組織被囊腫破壞
    5.腎盂腎炎
    6.止痛劑引起的腎病變──由於過量服用止痛劑引起的腎損傷
    7.痛風
    8.結締組織病變──狼瘡性腎炎、硬皮症 (Scleroderma)
             多發性動脈炎結節 (Polyarteritis Nodosa)
    9.先天性及遺傳性異常
    10.結石及其他阻塞性病變
    11.逆流性腎病變──因尿液逆流引起的腎損傷
末期腎臟病 (ESRD)
當腎功能只剩不到百分之十,而需要依賴透析或腎移植才能維持生命時,稱為末期腎臟病。您的腎病可能接近或已在此階段,而您目前正接受的保守治療(藥身、飲食和水份限制)目的是在減輕受損腎臟的負擔以及減少廢物和液體積聚在體內。   此時您可能會有的症狀:
    ● 因體液積聚所導致的呼吸短促或全身水腫
    ● 疲勞
    ● 高血壓、頭痛
    ● 記憶力減退
    ● 煩燥
    ● 失眠
    ● 感覺虛脫
    ● 皮膚癢
    ● 飲慾欠佳、
    ●心及胃部不適
    ● 體重減輕
    ● 性慾減退
如果您目前所接受的保守治療,仍無法有效控制上述症狀時,您就必須接受透析治療。


慢性腎衰竭的病人能避免洗腎嗎?

http://www.kmu.edu.tw/~kmcj/data/8806/4252.htm
腎臟內科 顧進裕 副教授(88年6月)

罔腰是一個長期的糖尿病病人,服藥經常不規則;順水則在十年前因水腫及泡沫尿而被發現有嚴重的蛋白尿,但他拒絕了醫生建議他所做的腎臟切片檢查,服藥也經 常不規則,最近兩人因看到第四台的廣告,都去買了一些「腎臟病的特效藥」來吃,結果兩人都因月亮臉、嚴重高血壓及水腫而來腎臟內科住院。檢查的結果兩人的 血清肌酸酐都高達10mg/dl,超音波也都發現他們的腎臟都已經縮小了,因此診斷是「慢性腎衰竭」,兩個人在一 個月後都因貧血、少尿、呼吸困難等而被診斷為「尿毒症」,並接受了長期血液透 析治療。
類似以上的病例在台灣各醫院中不斷的上演,這也是造成台灣的洗腎病人逐年增加的重要原因之一;事實上這種悲劇是可以避免的,像罔腰的糖尿病如果能與醫生配 合並好好控制,順水的蛋白尿如果能在十年前接受腎臟切片檢查而對症下藥,且不濫用藥物,則兩個人的腎臟功能(愈差血清肌酸酐愈高)都可能維持數十年而不一 定要接受洗腎治療的。
在台灣,慢性腎衰竭及尿毒症最常見的原因是慢性腎小球腎炎(如順水),第二是糖尿病(如罔腰),第三則是高血壓,但不管什麼原因,一旦血清肌酸酐大於正常 值,就表示病人的腎臟功能只剩下不到一半,而且每一個病人腎功能惡化的速度都是固定的,但是若病人像此二人一樣不規則服藥,而去服用偏方的話,則速度會變 快,反之若病人與醫師合作且治療得當,則速度會變慢,甚至可能慢到數十年才變成尿毒症,亦即該病人在有生之年都不需要洗腎,因此就腎臟科醫師的眼光看起 來,該病人已經可以算是「痊癒」了。
究竟有什麼治療方法這麼神奇而可以使慢性腎衰竭病人免於洗腎呢?這得歸功於最近基礎及臨床醫學的進步,已經使這種醫生以前認為遲早「一定要」洗腎 的疾病的治療露出一線曙光了,因此此種病應早期去看腎臟專科醫師,並與醫療人員密切配合,如此才能達到最好的治療效果,畢竟病人若能不需要洗腎,則對國家、社會、家庭及個人都是一個很大的幫助的。
慢性腎衰竭的治療方法如下:
(一)避免下列可能惡化腎功能的因素:例如濫用藥物(類固醇、感冒藥水、止痛劑、X光對比劑、某些抗生素、不明來歷的藥物等)、脫水、心臟衰竭、低血壓或休克、泌尿道阻塞、感染、電解質不平衡等。
(二)低蛋白質飲食:每天每公斤體重攝取0.6公克的高生理價質蛋白質(如:動物性蛋白質、蛋、乳等)。
(三)若有高血壓、心臟衰竭或嚴重水腫,則必須攝取低鹽飲食(每天3公克食鹽),但若無這些情形,則鹽份的攝取量就必須依據病人每天尿液的鹽份排泄量來決定,因此坊間傳言的「腎臟病病人必須吃低鹽飲食」是不對的。
(四)若有少尿(尿液每天少於500毫升)及嚴重腎衰竭,則必須攝取低鉀飲食。
(五)治療原發性疾病:例如糖尿病及免疫性腎小球腎炎等。
(六)嚴格控制高血壓:若蛋白尿每天大於2公克,則治療目標為125/75mmHg,若蛋白尿每天少於2公克,則治療目標為130/85mmHg。
(七)若尚未嚴重腎衰竭(例如:血清肌酸酐小於4mg/dl),則可以使用血管張力素轉換脢抑制劑或血管張力素第一型受器抑制劑治療。
(八)降低蛋白尿:控制高血壓及血管張力素轉換脢抑制劑都有很好的治療效果。
總之,慢性腎衰竭的治療在最近幾年有了長足的進步,而醫學界對於此症也不像以前那麼悲觀了,現在的腎臟科醫師已經可以更積極的治療這些病人,如果能再加上病人本身高度的合作,則本文題目的答案應該是肯定。

Land of Dialysis? Kidney Disease in Taiwan


According to statistics for 2002 from the Taiwan Society of Nephrology, Taiwan ranks second globally in the prevalence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), with one out of every 650 people undergoing dialysis. Taiwan also has the highest incidence of ESRD, as more than 8,000 additional people require this treatment each year.
In 2003, kidney diseases such as nephritis (kidney inflammation), renal syndrome and nephrosis were the eighth leading cause of death among Taiwanese. In that year, 4,306 persons died of kidney disease, making it Taiwan's "new national scourge." Why is this the case? And how can kidney disease be prevented?
It's 7 a.m. and the streets remain tranquil, but An-Der Medical Clinic and Hemodialysis Center on Taipei's Pate Road is already getting busy. Accompanied by their offspring, elderly men and women walk into the dialysis unit hidden within the building.
An-Der has 60 beds for dialysis patients. Beginning at 7 a.m. and continuing until 10:30 p.m., the clinic performs the hemodialysis procedure on more than 100 patients in morning, afternoon, and evening shifts. As at other dialysis centers, the clinic's morning shift sees mostly older patients, while afternoon patients-who are typically part-time workers or those without regular work hours-are fewer in number. Patients who come in during the evening shift are mostly office workers, who arrive after getting off work, carrying their briefcases.
Surprisingly, the atmosphere inside the dialysis center is relaxed. Some people close their eyes meditatively, while others read books or watch television as their dialysis proceeds. Still others eat from take-out boxes as they receive treatment.

Dialysis in three shifts

In order to meet the needs of dialysis patients-who number more than 40,000 in Taiwan-the island's largest dialysis center, in the Linkou Medical Center of Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital, offers 180 beds and performs 10,000 dialysis procedures a month. Taipei City's largest facility is Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital with 80 beds.
Besides medical centers and regional hospitals, Taiwan also has numerous smaller dialysis clinics. According to statistics from the National Kidney Foundation ROC, there are currently 429 dialysis facilities in Taiwan providing more than 11,000 artificial kidneys to perform dialysis-another Taiwanese peculiarity.
Dialysis is a type of treatment for ESRD patients that serves to replace lost kidney function and thereby keep the patient alive. Though the Chinese term translates literally as "kidney washing," what is actually cleansed is not the kidneys, but the blood.
Generally speaking, a single treatment for one person requires an average of four to 4.5 hours. Yang Meng-ju, a physician at An-Der, points out that the time spent on dialysis affects its quality and the patient's survival. But if adequate time is allotted for each treatment and the procedure is performed often enough, then survival for 20 or 30 years presents no real problem. Of An-Der's 280-plus patients, the most "senior" has been receiving dialysis for nearly 30 years, while there are 70 other patients who have been getting the treatment for more than 15 years.
Chih Shu-yu, who began dialysis when she was 39, has been receiving the treatment now for 15 years. Like most dialysis patients, when she first heard that she would have to undergo dialysis, she resisted and desperately sought out alternatives. Every day, she suffered symptoms like those of a severe cold, with dizziness, nausea, and loss of appetite. After delaying for more than a year, by which time her body's inability to expel water led to pulmonary edema, she finally had no choice but to face facts.
"I cursed my fate every day, and it seemed like the end of the world," Chih recalls. When she first began dialysis, surgery was first performed to create an arterio-venous shunt. As she lay on the dialysis bed watching the blood being siphoned out of her body, she experienced the utter unwillingness to accept reality that those who haven't undergone dialysis would find it difficult to understand.

Born again

It was only after seven or eight years of dialysis that Chih escaped from the shadow of her illness, returning to work and society. In her fifties and never married, Chih does herself up brightly every day, working as a salesperson for cemetery operator ChinPaoSan Group during the day, helping clients handle preparations for the hereafter. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings after work, she makes her routine appearance at the dialysis center, using the center's treatment to keep herself alive.
Teddy Kang, vice president for sales at a shipping company, having obtained the consent of his boss, goes to Show Chwan Hospital's dialysis center every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday afternoon. He explains that although there is a feeling of helplessness while he lies there receiving dialysis, and occasionally he will experience discomfort from falling blood pressure or cramps in his calves (caused by an excessive loss of water from the body over a short period of time), he has a healthy attitude, enabling him to accept the fact that his illness will be with him for his entire life. "I feel that my life was restored to me by modern technology, so I cherish it more than I once did," Kang says. Before he became ill, he spent the entire day entertaining customers, but now his life is more regular. He has quit smoking and drinking, and his wife now finds that she no longer needs to worry about him. His family has become closer as well.

Measuring progress

In all of Taiwan, there are more than 40,000 people who, like Chih and Kang, rely on dialysis to stay alive. Moreover, the number of people added to their rolls each year continues to increase, and currently is more than 8,000. Yang Wu-chang, chief of the Section of Nephrology at Veterans General Hospital and former director of the Taiwan Society of Nephrology, estimates that by 2015, the number of dialysis patients in Taiwan may increase to around 70,000.
"This increase is in keeping with a worldwide trend," Yang says. He points out that the aging of populations and the rise in the survival rates of dialysis patients are indicators of the progress of modern medicine. However, because of these advances, countries around the world are confronted with the enormous expense associated with dialysis.
In Taiwan, for example, an average of more than NT$600,000 per dialysis patient is spent on dialysis fees each year. For one year, the National Health Insurance (NHI) program covers costs of NT$23 billion (accounting for 6.18% of all payments) related to dialysis treatment. Expenses for dialysis are the single largest item among all payments for major illness and injury, and an ever-growing burden on the Bureau of National Health Insurance.
It is the need to continue dialysis indefinitely that sets it most apart from typical medical treatments. When most diseases are treated successfully, subsequent drains on health care resources are reduced. However, once dialysis is begun it must be continued for a lifetime. The better the quality of care, the longer the patient's life can be extended, a situation that results in a further drain on health care resources, and even their becoming an "unbearable burden" for the NHI program.
While Taiwan faces this dilemma, advanced Western nations confront the same challenges. Faced with such enormous medical expenses, the British academic and health care communities have been locked in a controversy about what age dialysis should be continued until. There are even some people who propose that payouts for dialysis should be halted for those over 65 years of age. But the human rights and ethical issues involved are so profound that nobody has been willing to explore the proposal further.

A family affair

Although an increase in dialysis patients is a worldwide trend, the number of such persons is rising faster in Taiwan than anywhere else. The situation reveals some facts that deserve attention.
The prevalence of dialysis (the number of persons receiving the treatment at any given time) in Taiwan is 1,548 per million. In other words, for every 650 persons, there is one receiving dialysis. Currently, Taiwan has the world's second-highest prevalence, with only Japan's figure higher. As for Taiwan's incidence of dialysis (the number of new patients during a year), this is 365 per million, or more than 8,000 people in a year. Taiwan's incidence surpassed that of the US in 2002, taking over as the world's highest.
In recent years, the rapid rise in the number of people receiving dialysis can actually be traced to the implementation of the NHI program.
Founded in 1983, the National Kidney Foundation ROC (NKF) is a support group for kidney disease sufferers. Having provided guidance to patients since an era when petitions had to be made and an entire family would have to beg so that a member could win the right to receive dialysis treatment, the foundation's chief director Chang Su-kuang has the deepest awareness of the situation.
Recalling those times, Chang points out it has been little more than 40 years since "renal replacement therapies" were introduced into Taiwan. In 1963, noted nephrology authority Professor Chen Wan-yu of National Taiwan University introduced hemodialysis. At the time, the equipment was extremely expensive, and treatment fees enormous. In addition, social insurance programs had not been established at that point, meaning that the majority of uremia patients did not have the good fortune to receive this high-tech treatment.
"At the time, national income per capita in Taiwan was only US$3,000. A typical person's monthly salary was less than NT$20,000. In order to scrape together the NT$50,000 or NT$60,000 monthly cost of dialysis, uremia patients had to pour the entire family's resources into it. Many more people simply gave up on themselves, and allowed the accumulating toxins in the blood to cause organ failure and death," Chang says.

Return to society

When the NHI program was instituted in 1995, dialysis was a covered medical procedure. This was a huge piece of good news for Taiwanese with ESRD.
On the one hand, economic obstacles had been removed, allowing patients who would not otherwise have been able to afford dialysis to receive the treatment, and bringing the once-hidden population of dialysis patients out into the open. On the other hand, an increase in the quality of dialysis and rise in survival rates led to an ever-increasing number of such patients.
The survival and hospitalization rates of dialysis patients testify to improvement in the quality of dialysis care in Taiwan.
Veterans General Hospital's Yang Wu-chang points out that according to studies carried out by several hospitals such as VGH, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, and Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, patients receiving dialysis because of diabetes are hospitalized an average of 1.1 times each year. Non-diabetic patients are hospitalized an average of only 0.5 times. The average length of their hospitalization is eight and seven days, respectively, an indication that most patients did not exhibit complications or a deterioration in physical functioning.
Examining mortality rates, Yang says, deaths are most frequent during the first year of dialysis-about 15% in Taiwan, and even higher at 25% in North America. After five years of dialysis, the average yearly mortality rate is 9% in Taiwan, higher than Japan's 7%, but lower than Europe's 10% and America's 15%.

An unwelcome #1 ranking

"Taiwan's high prevalence of dialysis is actually a good sign," Yang explains. Besides implementation of the NHI program, other reasons that the prevalence of dialysis is rising are an aging population, a decrease in mortality rates for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and an increase in survival rates for dialysis patients. It is a symbol of advances in health care. However, what should be a source of concern is that "the incidence of dialysis should not be increasing," Yang says. "That Taiwan ranks number one in the world in the incidence of dialysis doesn't make sense."
The increase in the incidence of dialysis is related to an increase in patients with "secondary" illnesses.
According to estimates, approximately 40% of dialysis patients suffer from primary kidney disease, and the number of such patients is roughly steady. However, the number of patients receiving dialysis due to secondary kidney disorders caused by diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure has been on the rise in recent years.
Lin Ja-liang, a professor of nephrology and director of the Division of Clinical Toxicology at the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital's Linkou Medical Center, states that this situation reflects the problems with the care provided by physicians and patients' inadequate knowledge about how to stay healthy.
Because the early symptoms of diabetes and high blood pressure are not obvious, patients may easily overlook them. However, if adequate monitoring and control is not achieved, long-term high blood pressure will damage the delicate blood vessels in the kidneys. Diabetics' capillaries will gradually harden, destroying kidney function and leading to uremia.
In addition, Taiwan's physicians prescribe medications-and patients use them-incautiously. Substances such as analgesics, antipyretics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and the contrast agents commonly used in CAT scans and angiograms all create an extra burden for the kidneys.
Yang Wu-chang also points out that NSAIDs inhibit the secretion of prostaglandin, causing dilation of renal blood vessels and influencing blood circulation. If water intake is insufficient while the drug is being taken, it can easily lead to impaired kidney function. Alarmingly, besides the habit of many Taiwanese of buying medication without a doctor's prescription, local physicians often prescribe enough analgesics for ten days or half a month at a time, without checking the patient's kidney function, and without informing the patient of the potential risks. He believes that the lack of information sharing between different medical specializations and lack of awareness of potential problems are turning the kidneys, the body's last defense against toxins, into martyrs.
Besides the overuse of Western medications, another situation unique to Taiwan is especially worthy of mention-the use of Chinese medicine causing kidney failure, or what is called "Chinese herb nephropathy". At the 18th Joint Annual Conference of Biomedical Sciences two years ago, Shin Kong Hospital presented a report on this syndrome, hypothesizing that aristolochic acid was the main culprit.
Shin Kong Hospital's study of kidney biopsies from the hospital's dialysis and kidney transplant patients found that 28% showed signs of diabetes complications, and 27% of Chinese herb nephropathy. And of the 25 tests on patients for Chinese medicine ingredients, 80% showed positive results for aristolochic acid, which was long ago banned.
Lin makes particular mention of Taiwan's large population of people with hepatitis B. Some of these people are poisoned by aristolochic acid from taking the Chinese medicine long dan liver tonic, and within a year must begin dialysis.

Finding a good kidney

When most people hear that they will have to undergo dialysis, they try to avoid it if possible, afraid that once they start, it will mean a lifetime of dialysis. And in fact, they are not mistaken.
Tsai Ming-hung, a doctor at Taipei Show Chwan Hospital's dialysis center, points out that the objective of dialysis is to maintain life, and it cannot save the kidneys. Moreover, even four hours of hemodialysis can only achieve 1/12th of the effect of healthy kidneys. Therefore, dialysis patients are subject to the risks of elevated levels of toxins within their bodies over a period of many years, and thus need to rely on exercise and controlled diets to compensate.
Renal replacement therapies can only treat effects; the only way to treat the root cause and restore kidney function is a kidney transplant.
Generally speaking, kidney transplant patients have a higher rate of survival than dialysis patients, and their quality of life is also better. Yang Wu-chang points out that during the initial period after a transplant, the risk of infection is higher due to lowered immunity, and the mortality rate is correspondingly higher. However, after three months, the mortality rate for these patients is the same as for those receiving dialysis, and by the eighth month, the mortality rate for those receiving transplants is 25% to 30% lower.
The survival rate for kidney transplants is higher, and the drain on health care resources is also smaller. After one year, the medical expenses required by kidney transplant patients are half those of dialysis patients.
There are presently four or five thousand people in Taiwan awaiting kidney transplants. But at the present stage, the problems associated with kidney transplants are not less than those of dialysis.
First, there must be a source of organs. There is little enthusiasm for donating organs in Taiwan. Each year, only 3% of dialysis patients are able to receive transplants, markedly lower than the 15 to 20% who can do so in the US, and the 30 to 40% in Spain.
In addition to a shortage in the supply of organs, there is also the problem presented by human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matching. It is simply a matter of luck whether a kidney will prove tissue-compatible with a potential transplant recipient. And even if a patient is fortunate enough to have a compatible kidney available, for the rest of his life he will have to take anti-rejection drugs, which have the effect of reducing the body's immune response, in turn increasing the risk of infections and cancer. Some kidney transplant recipients even have to return to dialysis.
One woman, who had been taking painkillers to deal with the discomfort of her menstrual period, suffered from kidney failure when she was young, and had to receive dialysis. More than ten years ago, she was matched to a donor kidney and received a transplant. Although she was hospitalized several times due to infections, her quality of life nevertheless improved. Unexpectedly however, ten years after the transplant, the new kidney failed. Her physician recommended that she return to dialysis, but she resisted, unwilling to once again pass her days undergoing the treatment. In the end, her condition deteriorated and she died, not yet 40 years old.

An unbearable burden

Not long ago, in order to attract more patients, intensely competitive dialysis centers introduced incentives such as a pick-up and delivery service and giveaways upon receiving a treatment. Some people criticized such practices, asserting that dialysis in Taiwan was undertaken too casually, even giving rise to suspicions that doctors might be "encouraging" patients to receive dialysis so that the doctors could obtain NHI payouts. In fact, Taiwan's standards for determining whether dialysis is called for are stricter than those applied in the US. Even with these strict standards, when patients find that they meet the criteria for receiving dialysis, they initially resist.
"I have almost never seen a patient willing to undergo dialysis," says An-Der Clinic's Yang Meng-ju. When patients hear that they need dialysis, the first thing they do is not to prepare the dialysis shunt, but seek out folk remedies and Chinese herbal medicines. They delay the inevitable, until they suffer from pulmonary edema and uremia, or go into a coma because of excessive levels of blood urea nitrogen and are rushed to the hospital for emergency care.
As for the assertion that dialysis expends too many health care resources, Veterans General Hospital's Yang Wu-chang has something to say.
"Death is the only way to reduce medical expenses for patients with severe chronic diseases. But who has the right to sentence dialysis patients to death?" he asks. Yang suspects that respirator care for critical illnesses or life-saving attempts also consume NT$20 billion in NHI payouts in a year. By comparison, more than 60% of dialysis patients can work normally, and lead productive lives. Is spending NT$20 billion to maintain the normal lives of more than 40,000 families not warranted?
Of course the answer is that it is very much worthwhile. However, this should not be the focus of discussions. Rather, everyone should put their effort into thinking about how to reduce the occurrence of conditions that cause people to need dialysis in the first place.

沒有留言: