Technical and clinical data on high-performance hemofiltration: twelve patients during one year.

In 12 chronic hemodialysis patients, postdilutional hemofiltration (HF) was substituted for conventional acetate hemodialysis (HD) (4-5 h/session with high-area capillary dialyzers). In HF, the purposes were to obtain (a) no increase in pre-HF uremia compared with pre-HD uremia (high ultrafiltrate volume), (b) an HF duration shorter than that of HD (mean ultrafiltrate rate greater than 120 ml/min), (c) a disposable cost of an HF session identical to that of an HD session (reuse of hemofilters and extemporaneous preparation of substitution fluid). One-year results were (a) an ultrafiltrate volume of 26.

Plasma kinetics of small molecules during and after hemofiltration: decrease in hemofiltration efficiency related to increase in ultrafiltration rate.

The influence of delay in mass transfer on the real efficiency of hemofiltration sessions (HF) was studied in 7 patients during HF at a moderate ultrafiltration rate (UF rate = 100 ml/min) and at a high UF rate (UF rate = 200 ml/min). Real efficiency was expressed as "effective clearance" (KE) and compared to plasma clearance (KP); KE/KP was calculated from the kinetics of small molecules during HF and stabilized rebound post HF. Rebound in urea and uric acid plasma levels stabilized by 90 min post HF; increase in the UF rate from 100 to 200 ml/min was responsible for a decrease in KE/KP of 4% for urea and 11% for uric acid.

High efficiency haemofiltration (ultrafiltration of more than 250ml/min for two hours) in eight uraemic patients.

In eight uraemic patients a haemofiltration of very high efficiency was carried out from a double extracorporeal circuit set up via an arteriovenous fistula. The weight of the patients was kept constant throughout the session. The average ultrafiltration flow rate was 274ml/min; the total ultrafiltration volume was 32.