Impaired antiviral activity of monocytes from patients on hemodiafiltration.

Background: The aim of our study was to determine whether intermittent hemodiafiltration (HDF) leads to an alteration in monocyte antiviral activity as well as in the in vitro release of cytokines such as interleukin-12 (IL-12), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) by the same cells.

Methods: We enrolled 25 patients undergoing HDF for 3.5-4 hours 3 times a week (12 men, 13 women; mean age 58 +/- 6.