title: Ultrafiltration for congestive heart failure: the past and the present.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To provide an overview on the most recent evidence for the use of extracorporeal and peritoneal ultrafiltration in heart failure, focusing on the major publications from the last few years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There have been several studies investigating the possible use of extracorporeal and peritoneal ultrafiltration in the management of acute and chronic heart failure. These trials have investigated the potential benefits and advantages of ultrafiltration over conventional medical therapy, in terms of clinical outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although ultrafiltration remains an extremely appealing therapeutic option for patients with heart failure and congestion, with several theoretical beneficial effects, some of the most recent studies have reported inconsistent findings. Differences in the selection of the study population, heterogeneity of the indications for use of ultrafiltration, variation in the ultrafiltration protocols, and high variability in the pharmacologic therapy used for the control group could explain some of these conflicting findings.
authors.affiliation: Centro Cardiologico Monzino, I.R.C.C.S., Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marenzi
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Hypertension, and Renal Transplantation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kazory
authors.affiliation: Centro Cardiologico Monzino, I.R.C.C.S., Milan, Italy.|Cardiovascular Section, Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Piergiuseppe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Agostoni