Accident analyses and risk management in blood purification therapy at Tokyo Women’s Medical University Hospital

Abstract

At Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Tokyo, Japan, we perform about 30,000 dialysis or plasmapheresis treatments every year. Characteristic features of blood purification therapy at our center include treatment of maintenance hemodialysis patients, whereas our center is one of the central medical organization in Tokyo, and frequent plasmaexchange and double-filtration plasma exchange, because 150～200 renal transplantats are performed at our center every year. Also, approximately 1% of blood purification therapy is performed in the Intensive Care Unit or in a regular room of the hospital ward. While we try our best to treat all our patients without incident or complication, blood purification therapy is required for a number of diseases, and these patients have a range of physical conditions. Variety of medical staffs participate this therapy, resulting in increasing possibility of incidents or accidents. To analyze reports from the incidents or the accidents, blood purification therapy may be performed safer than today.