Efficacy of separated system continuous venovenous hemofiltration in critical acute kidney injury

Abstract

Integrated system continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH), the most popularly utilized mode for continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), needs a sophisticated and expensive machine that is available only in limited critical care units. Separated system CVVH, which can be simply set up, might be an effectively alternative to CRRT. A one-year prospective observational study regarding the efficacy of separated system CVVH was conducted with 192 critically ill patients with acute kidney injury. All patients underwent separated system CVVH with the pre-dilution mode and a mean CVVH dose of 34.9±2.7mL/kg/h. The APACHEII score was 23.2±8.4 and the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score was 12.0±4.3. No complications, including air-embolism or circuit clotting, were observed and the survival rate was 32.3%. Separated system CVVH is simple, safe, and efficient and could provide cheaper treatments than the integrated system. It could thus be an effective, alternative treatment for critical acute kidney injury patients when the integrated mode is unavailable.