Abstract
When the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake occurred, people’s lifelines were disturbed markedly due to the earthquake and accompanying tsunami. There was much confusion in people’s daily lives and across healthcare services. In the case of pediatric kidney diseases, children receiving peritoneal dialysis can be affected markedly during large disasters. Peritoneal dialysis requires continuous implementation and a power source for the automated peritoneal perfusion device and supply of commodities, including dialysis fluid. Furthermore, family members must operate peritoneal dialysis. During large disasters, it may become impossible to satisfy these needs, making peritoneal dialysis difficult to continue; however, this can lead to the patient’s death. To avoid such situations, it is important to be prepared for disasters. We will present how children who required peritoneal dialysis were actually managed at the Tohoku University Hospital Department of Pediatrics immediately after the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake, and the challenges faced at that time. It is hoped that details of this experience will provide useful reference information for discussions about the management of children who require peritoneal dialysis during future large disasters.
