title: Effect of residual renal function on minimum dialysis requirements.
abstract: In two groups of haemodialysis patients, the effect of residual renal function (RRF) on motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV) was prospectively studied. Patients belonging to Group I had stable GFR of greater than 1 ml/min while Group II patients had gradually declining GFR. As a result, the dialysis index for middle molecules, DI(MM), remained above 1.0 in Group I despite dialysis schedules as short as 6 hr/wk. DI(MM) in Group II fell gradually below 1.0 as renal function deteriorated on equally short dialysis schedules. None of the five patients in Group I developed neuropathy during 1.2-4.1 years of reduced dialysis. However, all four patients belonging to Group II developed significant (p less than .01) slowing of MNCV when their GFR declined below 0.5 ml/min. Neuropathy in this group was arrested or reversed by increasing DI(MM). It is, therefore, proposed that residual renal function is a major determinant of dialysis requirements.
mesh_terms: D005919:Glomerular Filtration Rate; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D013997:Time Factors