title: Clinical experience with short-time hemodialysis.
abstract: To determine the safety and efficiency of short-time hemodialysis (HD), the authors used the urea kinetic method to provide patients with similar amount of dialysis to that received during conventional treatment times. After six months on conventional HD (cellulosa acetate dialyzers, bicarbonate dialysate, and 4-hour treatment time), 8 patients were switched to short-time HD (cellulose triacetate dialyzers, bicarbonate dialysate, and 3-hour treatment time). During short-time HD, treatment time was reduced by 25%, while Kt/V index and protein catabolic rate remained constant. Shorter treatment times were not associated with an increase in intra- or interdialytic complications. When compared with the conventional period, short-time HD did not result in pre- or postdialysis blood pressure changes, interdialytic weight gain, or changes in biochemical parameters. Short-time HD did not result in an increase in hospital admissions. This study demonstrates that short-time HD performed with mandatory attention to the adequacy of dialysis as measured by urea kinetic modeling is compatible with objective improvement in patient welfare. The long-term effects of this treatment modality are not known, but our experience so far has been favorable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology and Dialysis, Sestre Milosrdnice University Hospital, Zagreb.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kes
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ratković-Gusić
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects; D013997:Time Factors