COVID-19 Has U.S. Hospitals Scrambling to Stock Dialysis Supplies
One unforeseen source of stress for intensive care units in COVID-19-positive hospitals has been the disease's association with kidney damage. In some New York hospitals, 30% of severely affected coronavirus patients also experience a loss of kidney function that requires lots of dialysis treatments to remedy.
Patients severely affected by COVID-19 usually need dialysis to filter their blood for much longer periods than they need to use a respirator for help breathing. Hospital systems that suddenly find themselves treating hundreds of coronavirus patients with dialysis are blasting through the usual amount of supplies kept on hand.
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Source Fool.com