MSF crush syndromes
The risk of renal failure is high for survivors of Haiti’s devastating earthquake who have severely crushed limbs or dangerously infected wounds. Thus, a key component of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières’s (MSF) emergency response is carried out by its team of nephrologists specializing in kidney diseases. Just after the earthquake struck, MSF sent a nine-person medical team to the Port-au-Prince General Hospital and then flew in four dialysis machines to help treat those patients in need of expert care.
On January 18, MSF put its first “crush syndrome” patient on lifesaving dialysis; a week later the team had performed more than 50 dialysis sessions. Crush syndrome is a condition in which muscle tissues damaged by severe internal injury release massive quantities of toxins into the blood, leading to kidney failure. Left untreated, crush syndrome can be fatal. Patients with septicemia, a serious life-threatening infection, are also receiving specialized care from the team at General Hospital.
Here, MSF nephrologist Stefaan Maddens talks about his first two days treating crush syndrome patients in Port-au-Prince:
suite
On January 18, MSF put its first “crush syndrome” patient on lifesaving dialysis; a week later the team had performed more than 50 dialysis sessions. Crush syndrome is a condition in which muscle tissues damaged by severe internal injury release massive quantities of toxins into the blood, leading to kidney failure. Left untreated, crush syndrome can be fatal. Patients with septicemia, a serious life-threatening infection, are also receiving specialized care from the team at General Hospital.
Here, MSF nephrologist Stefaan Maddens talks about his first two days treating crush syndrome patients in Port-au-Prince:
suite
