[Measuring Kt by ionic dialysance is a useful tool for assessing dialysis dose in critical patients]

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the Kt assessed through ionic dializance (KtOCM) in UCI patients undergoing renal replacement therapy for acute kidney injury, comparing the results with those obtained through the urea removal rate method determined by dialyzate collection (Kturea).

Material and methods: 18 adult UCI staying individuals suffering from renal replacement therapy requiring oliguric acute kidney injury were included in this study. RRT consisted in intermittent or extended hemodialysis performed through a Fresenius 4008E dialysis machine equipped with an on-line clearance monitor (OCM Fresenius). The KtOCM results were provided automatically. The Spearman correlation test was used to assess the relationship between the two exploratory methods and the Student s t test to compare the results obtained by the KtOCM and the Kturea.

Results: 35 treatments were analyzed. There were not statistically significant differences between the results form the KtOCM and the Kturea (34.9 +/- 10.69 vs 32.78 +/- 11.31, p = NS). A remarkable association was find between both methods (r = 0.87; 95CI, 0.76-0.94; p < 0.001).

Conclusions: The assessment of Kt through ionic dialyzance is a simple method to estimate the dose of dialysis in critically ill patients and is and useful tool to monitor and adjust the RRT in real time according to a target dose.