American Journal of Kidney Diseases
Volume 46, Issue 5 , Pages 976-981, November 2005

Hemodialysis: Techniques and Prescription

  • T. Alp Ikizler, MD

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress reprint requests to T. Alp Ikizler, MD, Division of Nephrology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1161 21st Ave S & Garland, S-3223 MCN, Nashville, TN 37232-2372.
    • ,
  • Gerald Schulman, MD

Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN

Received 17 December 2004; accepted 1 July 2005. published online 04 October 2005.

Article Outline

 

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Introduction 

HEMODIALYSIS (HD) is the routine renal replacement therapy for more than 300,000 patients in the United States who have reached end-stage renal disease. The goals of HD are straightforward and include restoring the body’s intracellular and extracellular fluid environment and accomplishing solute balance by either removal from the blood into the dialysate or from the dialysate into the blood. Optimal care of the patient receiving long-term HD requires broad knowledge of the HD technique and appropriate prescription according to patient- and device-dependent variables. This Core Curriculum aims to provide a comprehensive but also concise description of HD technique and prescription. Clinically relevant practical information is provided in appropriate sections.

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Hemodialysis Techniques 

Components 

Blood Circuit 

•The patient

•Vascular access:
■Arteriovenous fistula

■Polytetrafluoroethylene

■Catheter:
○Temporary

○Tunneled


■Needles:
○Gauge

○Back-eye


■Blood tubing:
○Air traps

○Air detectors


■HD machine:
○Blood pump

○Pressure monitors; pressure readings will vary according to blood flow:
□Arterial: measure of excessive suction from artery

□Venous: measure of resistance to blood return


○Heparin pump

○Blood leak detector (placed in dialysate outflow line)

○Temperature gauge

○Conductivity:
□Measure of osmolarity of dialysate

□Determined by electrical charge of electrolytes in dialysate



■Artificial kidney (dialyzer):
○Hollow fiber; parallel plate

○Membrane material:
□Cellulosic (highest level of inflammatory response and complement activation; used less)

□Semisynthetic

□Synthetic (survival benefit in acute renal failure; most common dialyzer type)


○Dialyzer reuse:
□Technique (bleach, formaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide/peracetic acid, heat/citric acid)

□Performance testing (fiber bundle volume, pressure gradient, in vitro ultrafiltration [UF] coefficient)

□Clinical considerations (infection risk, adequacy, biochemical effects, metabolic effects, effect on mortality)




Dialysate Circuit 

•Dialysate

•Dialysate tubing

•Water treatment system:
■Reverse osmosis:
○Effective and commonly used

○High capital, low operating costs

○Effective barrier against microbiological contaminants


■Deionization:
○Uses ion exchange resins

○Used as a secondary step following reverse osmosis

○Deionizer performance must be monitored closely


■Carbon absorption:
○Standard method for removing chloramines

○Two carbon absorption beds installed in series (before reverse osmosis) to prevent inadvertent exposure


■Other purification processes:
○Softeners (a form of deionization)

○Filters (to control microbiological contaminants)



•Water storage and distribution:
■Microbiological testing (at least once a month)

■Chemical contaminant testing (at least once a year)


Operational Characteristics 

•Scheduling:
■Intermittent

■Daily

■Continuous


•Length: 2-24 hours

•Solute clearance

•Fluid removal

•Prescription

•Clinical indication:
■HD for end-stage renal disease:
○Conventional HD

○Daily HD

○Short daily HD

○Nocturnal HD


■HD for acute renal failure:
○Conventional HD

○Slow low-efficiency dialysis (SLED)

○Continuous renal replacement therapy:
□Slow continuous UF (SCUF)

□Continuous arterio- and venovenous hemofiltration (CAVH and CVVH)

□Continuous arterio- and venovenous HD (CAVHD and CVVHD)

□Continuous arterio- and venovenous hemodiafiltration (CAVHDF and CVVHDF)




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Hemodialysis Prescription 

Elements of the HD Prescription 

Dialyzer Type 

•Capacity for solute clearance:
■Conventional, high efficiency

■Refers to small solute transfer across membrane (expressed as mass transfer coefficient [KoA]); high-efficiency dialyzers have KoA urea > 450 mL/min

■Determined by diffusive and convective clearance

■Size, charge, protein binding, and volume of distribution of solute determine clearance rate

■Large molecules (>300 d) have relatively lower diffusive clearance

■Ideal dialyzer should have high clearance of small- and middle-molecular-weight uremic toxins and negligible loss of vital solutes

■Clearance of larger solutes primarily depends on convection


•Biocompatibility:
■Cellulosic

■Semisynthetic

■Synthetic


•Cost of synthetic material

•Low blood volume compartment

•High reliability

Capacity for UF (Fluid Removal) 

UF coefficient (KUF).

•KUF determines quantity of pressure that must be exerted across dialysis membrane (transmembrane pressure) to generate a given volume of ultrafiltrate per unit time

•High-flux membranes are defined as having UF coefficient > 15 mL/h/mm Hg

•KUF is dialyzer specific and determined by membrane composition, surface area, and geometry

Flux characteristics.

•Low flux
■KUF < 15 mL/h/mm Hg or β2-microglobulin clearance < 10 mL/min


•High flux:
■KUF > 15 mL/h/mm Hg or β2-microglobulin clearance > 20 mL/min; KoA > 450 mL/min

■Subgroup analysis of the HEMO Study suggested cardiovascular survival advantage in patients randomized to high-flux arm of study


Net pressure gradient.

•Difference between blood and dialysate hydraulic pressures (calculated as arithmetic mean of inlet and outlet pressures of dialyzer)

Transmembrane pressure.

•Effective pressure required to achieve a particular fluid loss (transmembrane pressure = desired weight loss/[UF coefficient × dialysis time])

•Can be varied by changing pressure in blood and dialysate compartments and therefore can selectively determine UF rate for a given dialyzer

UF rate prescription.

•Goal is to achieve estimated dry weight (lowest weight a patient can tolerate without development of signs or symptoms of intravascular hypovolemia)

•Tolerance determined by vascular refilling

•On-line monitoring of blood volume changes may help prescription

•UF modeling may reduce intradialytic complication

Length of Treatment 

•Clearance of a high-molecular-weight solute can be increased by lengthening HD treatment

•Increasing time decreases low-molecular-weight solute removal and does not result in equivalent increases in low-molecular-weight solute removal (diminishing return)

Flow 

Blood flow (Qb).

•Flow-limited mass transfer and membrane-limited mass transfer (defined by specific dialyzer and solute being measured) together determine clearance characteristics

•As blood and dialysate flow rates increase, resistance and turbulence within dialyzer also increase

•Efficacy of vascular access may affect solute clearance due to recirculation (stenosis at venous or arterial anastomoses or midgraft):
■Recirculation can be measured by simultaneous measurement of a solute (usually blood urea nitrogen) from arterial line and from a peripheral blood source—this method is inaccurate due to “cardiopulmonary recirculation” and worse during high-efficiency HD; it is of historical curiosity and should not be performed routinely

■Slow-flow method is routinely used to measure recirculation

■Newer methods, such as indicator technique, demonstrate that recirculation is rare during HD


Dialysate flow (Qd).

•Practical upper limit of effective dialysate flow is twice blood flow rate, beyond which gain in solute removal is minimal

•High flow rates should be confined to blood flows > 300 mL/min

Anticoagulation 

•Interaction of plasma with dialysis membrane leads to activation of clotting cascade

•Dialyzer thrombogenicity is determined by:
■Dialysis membrane composition

■Surface charge, area, and configuration

■Rate of blood flow through dialyzer

■UF rate (due to hemoconcentration)

■Length, diameter, and composition of blood lines

■Patient-specific variables


•Most common anticoagulant is systemic heparin:
■Easy to administer

■Low cost

■Short biological half-life

■Bolus and/or incremental administration during HD; occasionally regional administration or no heparin (saline flushes)

■In routine clinical practice, intensity of anticoagulation is not measured; anticoagulant therapy can be used under some circumstances (∼50% above baseline)


•Low-molecular-weight heparin:
■Limited data


•For patients at high risk for serious adverse events from hemorrhage, guidelines for anticoagulation must be based on comorbid conditions:
■Regional methods

■Saline flushes

■Citrate infusion or citrate based dialysate


Determination of HD Dose/Adequacy 

Historical Perspective 

•National Cooperative Dialysis Study (NCDS) showed that a minimum clearance per HD is required

•Subsequent analysis of NCDS suggested clinical applicability of Kt/V, a dimensionless term that describes aspects directly related to the HD treatment factored by volume of urea distribution in patient

•Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (K/DOQI) Guidelines defined adequate dialysis dose:
■Kt/V of at least 1.2 per treatment (single pool, variable volume) for both adult and pediatric HD patients


•HEMO Study results indicated that within conventional schedule of thrice-weekly HD (Kt/V of 1.3 in clinical practice), neither increased dose of dialysis nor use of high-flux membrane improves survival, reduces hospitalization rate, or maintains higher serum albumin level than standard HD dose and use of low-flux membranes

HD Dose Prescription Components 

Patient variables.

•Total-body water (urea volume of distribution)

•Urea generation

•Residual renal function

•Fluid accumulation

Dialysis variables.

•Dialyzer-related components

•Length of dialysis

•Schedule

Measurement of Dialysis Dose 

Urea reduction ratio.

•The fractional decrease in blood urea nitrogen during a single HD

•Simple to calculate

•Assumes constant urea volume and no disequilibrium

•Does not include effects of UF

•K/DOQI guidelines suggest urea reduction ratio at least 65%

Single-compartment urea kinetics.

•Most commonly applied method for quantifying HD in clinical practice

•Two blood urea nitrogen method

•Equilibrated Kt/V to account for rebound

Multiple-compartment urea kinetics.

•Developed to account for solute disequilibrium:
■Diffusion-dependent disequilibrium

■Flow-dependent disequilibrium

■Cardiopulmonary recirculation


•More consistent with actual data

•Not recommended for clinical practice due to its complexity

Continuous equivalent of urea clearance.

•Allows comparison of dialysis dose between different modalities

•No standard for adequacy limits

•Difficult to calculate

Normalized Kt/V.

•Not practical

Standard Kt/V.

•Measures and compares dialysis dose regardless of schedule

Solute removal index (SRI).

•No standards of adequacy for SRI

•Lower than blood-based Kt/V

Dialysate 

Dialysate characteristics influence the final concentration of blood solute, intermediary protein, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism and affect systemic vasomotor tone, cardiac contractility and rhythm, pulmonary gas exchange, and bone turnover.

Composition 

Sodium.

•“Standard” to have a dialysate sodium concentration similar to plasma sodium concentration

•Use higher dialysate sodium or sodium modeling in patients prone to intradialytic hypotension

Potassium.

•Efficacy of intradialytic potassium removal is highly variable, difficult to predict, and influenced by dialysis-specific and patient-specific factors

•Dialysate potassium concentration of 1-3 mEq/L is used in most patients

•Low dialysate potassium concentrations should be used with caution (due to association between use of low dialysate potassium with sudden cardiac death)

Buffer.

•Correction of acidosis is largely achieved by using a dialysate with higher concentration of alkaline equivalents than are present in blood, promoting flux of base from dialysate into blood

•Base transfer across dialysis membrane can be achieved using either bicarbonate- or acetate-containing dialysate:
■Acetate:
○Introduced in 1964 and was clinical standard of practice for >20 years

○Biochemically more stable and less frequent bacterial contamination

○Associated with cardiovascular instability and intradialytic hypotension due to slow conversion of acetate into bicarbonate

○Acetate accumulation also can cause nausea, vomiting, headache, fatigue, decreased myocardial contractility, peripheral vasodilatation, and arterial hypoxemia


■Bicarbonate:
○Replaced acetate as standard dialysate buffer

○Dialysate bicarbonate concentrations of 30-35 mEq/L now commonly used (can be adjusted close to entry point of final dialysate into dialyzer)

○Liquid bicarbonate concentrate and reconstituted bicarbonate-containing dialysate will support growth of gram-negative bacteria, filamentous fungi, and yeast (strict regulations by Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation)



Calcium.

•In patients with hypocalcemia, positive intradialytic calcium balance may be desired as adjunct therapy for control of metabolic bone disease

•Standard dialysate calcium concentration of 2.5-3.0 mEq/L is used in an effort to prevent interdialytic hypercalcemia

•Dialysate calcium concentration may also affect hemodynamic stability during HD procedure

Chloride.

•Major anion in dialysate

•Dialysate chloride concentration determined to maintain electrical neutrality

Glucose.

•Optimal dialysate glucose concentration is 100-200 mg/dL for most patients

•High dialysate glucose (>200 mg/dL) increases risk for hyperosmolar syndrome, postdialysis hyperglycemia and hyponatremia, and hypertriglyceridemia

•Glucose-free dialysate (losses of 25-30 g of glucose across dialyzer) may potentiate hypoglycemia (especially in diabetic patients) and may adversely affect HD-associated catabolism

Physical Characteristics 

Temperature.

•Dialysate temperature is generally maintained between 36.5°C and 38°C at inlet of dialyzer

•Lower dialysate temperature may reduce intradialytic hypotension and also increase cardiac contractility, improve oxygenation, increase venous tone, and reduce complement activation during dialysis

•New accurate blood temperature monitors allow isothermic HD

Microbiological Characteristics 

•Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation standards

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Additional Reading 

    Hemodialysis Techniques
  1. Schulman G , Himmelfarb J . Hemodialysis . In:  Brenner BM editors. The Kidney, vol 2 . ed 7. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders; 2004;p. 2563–2624
  2. Leypoldt JK , Cheung AK , Deeter RB , et al.   Kinetics of urea and beta-microglobulin during and after short hemodialysis treatments . Kidney Int . 2004;66:1669–1676
    Hemodialysis Membrane
  1. Hakim RM . Clinical implications of hemodialysis membrane biocompatability . Kidney Int . 1993;44:484–494
  2. Hakim RM . Clinical implications of hemodialysis membrane biocompatibility . Kidney Int . 1993;44:484–494 Hakim RM , Wingard RL , Parker RA . Effect of the dialysis membrane in the treatment of patients with acute renal failure . N Engl J Med . 1994;331:1338–1342
  3. Cheung AK , Leypoldt JK . The hemodialysis membranes (A historical perspective, current state and future prospect) . Semin Nephrol . 1997;17:196–213
  4. Cheung AK , Levin NW , Greene T , et al.   Effects of high-flux hemodialysis on clinical outcomes (Results of the HEMO Study) . J Am Soc Nephrol . 2003;14:3251–3263
  5. Leypoldt JK , Cheung AK . Increases in mass transfer-area coefficients and urea Kt/V with increasing dialysate flow rate are greater for high-flux dialyzers . Am J Kidney Dis . 2001;38:575–579
  6. Simmons EM , Weathersby BB , Golper TA , Collins AJ . High-flux, high-efficiency procedures . In:  Henrich WL editors. Principles and Practice of Dialysis . ed 3. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2004;p. 128–136
    Hemodialysis Adequacy
  1. Kumar VA , Depner TA . Approach to hemodialysis kinetic modeling . In:  Henrich WL editors. Principles and Practice of Dialysis (ed 3). . Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2004;p. 82–102
  2. Lowrie EG , Laird NM , Parker TF , Sargent JA . Effect of the hemodialysis prescription of patient morbidity (Report from the National Cooperative Dialysis Study) . N Engl J Med . 1981;305:1176–1181
  3. Gotch FA , Sargent JA . A mechanistic analysis of the National Cooperative Dialysis Study (NCDS) . Kidney Int . 1985;28:526–534
  4. Hakim RM , Depner TA , Parker TF . Adequacy of hemodialysis . Am J Kidney Dis . 1992;20:107–123
  5. Owen WF , Lew NL , Liu Y , Lazarus JM . The urea reduction ratio and serum albumin concentrations as predictors of mortality in patients undergoing hemodialysis . N Engl J Med . 1993;329:1001–1006
  6. Gotch FA . Evolution of the single-pool urea kinetic model . Semin Dial . 2001;14:252–256
  7. Eknoyan G , Beck GJ , Cheung AK , et al.   Effect of dialysis dose and membrane flux in maintenance hemodialysis . N Engl J Med . 2002;347:2010–2019
  8. Depner TA , Gotch FA , Port FK , et al.   How will the results of the HEMO Study impact dialysis practice? . Semin Dial . 2003;16:8–21
  9. Suri RS , Depner T , Lindsay RM . Dialysis prescription and dose monitoring in frequent hemodialysis . Contrib Nephrol . 2004;145:75–88
  10. Pierratos A . Daily nocturnal home hemodialysis . Kidney Int . 2004;65:1975–1986
    Dialysate
  1. Hakim RM , Pontzer MA , Tilton D , Lazarus JM , Gottlieb MN . Effects of acetate and bicarbonate dialysate in stable chronic dialysis patients . Kidney Int . 1985;28:535–540
  2. Locatelli F , Covic A , Chazot C , Leunissen K , Luno J , Yaqoob M . Optimal composition of the dialysate, with emphasis on its influence on blood pressure . Nephrol Dial Transplant . 2004;19:785–796
  3. Karnik JA , Young BS , Lew NL , et al.   Cardiac arrest and sudden death in dialysis units . Kidney Int . 2001;60:350–357
  4. Rosborough DC , Van Stone JC . Dialysis glucose . Semin Dial . 1993;6:260–263
  5. Palmer BF . Individualizing the dialysate in the hemodialysis patient . Semin Dial . 2001;14:41–49
  6. Palmer BF . Dialysate composition in hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis . In:  Henrich WL editors. Principles and Practice of Dialysis . ed 3. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2004;p. 28–44
    Anticoagulation
  1. Lim W , Cook DJ , Crowther MA . Safety and efficacy of low molecular weight heparins for hemodialysis in patients with end-stage renal failure (A meta-analysis of randomized trials) . J Am Soc Nephrol . 2004;15:3192–3206
  2. Ouseph R , Ward RA . Anticoagulation for intermittent hemodialysis . Semin Dial . 2000;13:181–187
  3. Poschel KA , Bucha E , Esslinger HU , et al.   Anticoagulant efficacy of PEG-hirudin in patients on maintenance hemodialysis . Kidney Int . 2004;65:666–674
    Water Treatment
  1. Ward RA , Leypoldt JK , Clark WR , Ronco C , Mishkin GJ , Paganini EP . What clinically important advances in understanding and improving dialyzer function have occurred recently? . Semin Dial . 2001;14:160–174
  2. Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation . Water Treatment Equipment for Hemodialysis Applications, ANSI/AAMI RD62:2001 . Arlington, VA: Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation; 2001;
  3. Leuhmann DA , Keshaviah PR , Ward RA , Klein E . A Manual on Water Treatment for Hemodialysis. US Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, HHS Publication FDA 89-4234 . Rockville, MD: Food and Drug Administration; 1989;
    Reuse
  1. National Kidney Foundation report on dialyzer reuse. Task Force on Reuse of Dialyzers, Council on Dialysis, National Kidney Foundation . Am J Kidney Dis . 1997;30:859–871
  2. Port FK , Wolfe RA , Hulbert-Shearon TE , et al.   Mortality risk by hemodialyzer reuse practice and dialyzer membrane characteristics (Results from the USRDS Dialysis Morbidity and Mortality Study) . Am J Kidney Dis . 2001;37:276–286
  3. Collins AJ , Liu J , Ebben JP . Dialyser reuse-associated mortality and hospitalization risk in incident Medicare haemodialysis patients, 1998-1999 . Nephrol Dial Transplant . 2004;19:1245–1251
  4. Cheung AK , Agodoa LY , Daugirdas JT , et al.   Effects of hemodialyzer reuse on clearances of urea and β2-microglobulin. The Hemodialysis (HEMO) Study Group . J Am Soc Nephrol . 1999;10:117–127

 Originally published online as doi:10.1053/j.ajkd.2005.07.037 on October 3, 2005.

PII: S0272-6386(05)01048-6

doi:10.1053/j.ajkd.2005.07.037

American Journal of Kidney Diseases
Volume 46, Issue 5 , Pages 976-981, November 2005

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