Which treatment modality is used for end-stage renal disease?

• A. Antibiotics
• B. Dialysis
• C. Immunotherapy
• D. Radiation therapy

Answer: (B)

When the kidneys fail to the point where they can no longer remove waste or balance fluids and electrolytes, a replacement therapy is used to sustain life. Dialysis serves this role by filtering wastes and excess fluid from the blood, doing the job of the kidneys when their function is lost. There are two main forms: hemodialysis, where blood is run through a machine and a filter called a dialyzer to remove wastes before returning to the body; and peritoneal dialysis, where a solution is placed in the abdominal cavity to absorb wastes and then drained. This approach is a life-sustaining treatment for end-stage renal disease, often used while a transplant is planned or when transplant isn’t possible.

Antibiotics treat infections, but they do not replace kidney function. Immunotherapy modulates the immune system for various conditions, not as a replacement for renal filtering. Radiation therapy uses ionizing radiation to treat cancer or other diseases, not to manage end-stage kidney failure. Dialysis is the modality that directly addresses the loss of kidney filtration in ESRD.