In a recent study (Tuğlular S et al, 2023) the effects of the Ukraine War on patients with ERSD were described.
These were the main conclusions:
- Most dialysis units except three were operational, one of which was disrupted due to a bomb attack and the other two were disconnected from water and electricity
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Most dialysis patients in the eastern part of Ukraine were moved to cities in western Ukraine (Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivci, Uzhgorod)
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Medications for CKD management, including heparin, intravenous iron, and erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) were lacking
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Immunosuppressive medications including, tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil and steroids were urgently needed
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Foreign renal health professionals were not requested since local and displaced Ukrainian healthcare workers continued to work.
Refugee patients
Although the majority of patients on RRT preferred to stay within Ukraine in the early days, there was an increasing efflux of refugee patients to neighbouring countries over time that seemed to stabilise and was followed by a return to Ukraine as the conflict became chronic.
At the beginning of September 2022, 700 Ukrainian patients on dialysis were displaced throughout Europe. Poland received the highest number of dialysis patients (up to 270), while Romania, Moldova, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Lithuania also hosted many dialysis patients.
Last Reviewed on 15 October 2023