Should we provide ultrapure dialysis fluid? Summary of the EDTNA/ERCA Journal Club discussion Winter 2006.
The paper discussed during winter 2006 was an editorial in Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation (NDT) entitled "Ultrapure dialysis fluid--how pure is it and do we need it" by Dr Ingrid Ledebo PhD of Gambro Corporate Research, Sweden. Thirteen people from seven different countries contributed to the wide-ranging discussion whose topics ranged from the most cost effective way of producing ultrapure dialysis fluid (UPDF) to the environmental impact of heat sanitisation and the industrial-scale bleeding of the Limulus horseshoe crab. Different methods of disinfection such as heat and UV light were discussed as well as the requirement and funding for microbial detection assays and their various sensitivities. Participants concluded that the available evidence supported the use of UPDF as standard, but identified financial pressures, via differing reimbursement systems, as the main barrier to its universal introduction.
Murcutt
Gareth
G
Center for Nephrology, Royal Free and University Hospital Medical Schools, Royal Free Hospital Campus, London, UK.