Regional citrate anticoagulation using a citrate-based substitution solution for continuous venovenous hemofiltration in cardiac surgery patients.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility, efficacy, safety and side effects of routinely performed continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH) with regional citrate anticoagulation using a citrate-containing substitution solution as compared with conventional systemic low-dose unfractionated heparin-anticoagulation in postoperative cardiac surgery patients.

Design/setting: Database review of all patients on CVVH during a three-year period at a cardiovascular intensive care unit of a tertiary referring university hospital.

Patients: Patients who had undergone cardiac surgery with acute or chronic renal failure were studied.