Simple model of intra-extracellular potassium kinetics and removal applied to constant and potassium-profiled dialysis.

Aim: The incidence rate for sudden death in hemodialysis patients ranges between 2% and 7%. This phenomenon is frequently due to cardiac arrhythmias. In particular, the process of potassium (K(+)) depuration performed during hemodialysis has been found to be related to arrhythmia onset.

Blood volume controlled hemodialysis in hypotension-prone patients: a randomized, multicenter controlled trial.

Background: Recently we have devised and tested a biofeedback system for controlling blood volume (BV) changes during hemodialysis (HD) along an ideal trajectory (blood volume tracking, BVT), continuously modifying the weight loss rate and dialysate conductivity. This multicenter, prospective, randomized, crossover study aimed to clarify whether BVT (treatment B) can improve hypotension-prone patients' treatment tolerance, compared with conventional hemodialysis (treatment A).

Methods: Thirty-six hypotension-prone patients enrolled from 10 hemodialysis (HD) centers were randomly assigned to either of the study sequences ABAB or BABA, each lasting four months.