Predicting dialysate sodium composition in sorbent dialysis using single point and multiple-dilution conductivity measurement.

This research establishes the ability to predict the sodium composition in dialysate from a single conductivity measurement over the wide range of concentrations of chloride, bicarbonate, and acetate that occur during sorbent dialysis. The ranges explored in mEq/L were sodium 100-180, chloride 76-143, bicarbonate 16-31, and acetate 4-11. Through mathematical optimization using a pattern search method, a single point measurement technique was shown to predict the total sodium concentration within approximately +/- 4.2 mEq/L in solutions with varying relative concentrations of chloride, bicarbonate, and acetate. The data analysis showed that the total sodium concentration can be predicted within +/- 2.1 mEq/L in most cases. Another potential approach to determining sodium concentration, a multiple-dilution measurement method, was tested and is also described. It is based on the varying relationship of activity to concentration for each of the sodium-anion pairs. This technique has practical limitations because of interactions between the various ions in solution at normal concentrations of dialysis along with the complexities involved in creating high dilutions of dialysate for on-line assays during dialysis.