Calcium profiling in hemodiafiltration: a new way to reduce the calcium overload risk without compromising cardiovascular stability.

Background: Low and high dialysate calcium (Ca²⁺) content may have positive and harmful effects depending on the considered pathological aspect: hemodynamic instability, cardiac arrhythmias, parathormone release, adynamic bone disease, cardio-vascular calcifications. We hypothesized that a time-profiled Ca²⁺ concentration would keep the cardiovascular advantages of high Ca²⁺ but would reduce the risk of calcium overload.

Methods: A prospective, multicenter study using a particular hemodiafiltration technique that allows the profiling of electrolytes was designed.