A single-pass batch dialysis system: an ideal dialysis method for the patient in intensive care with acute renal failure

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Conventional intermittent hemodialysis and continuous veno-venous hemofiltration are the opposite poles of current treatment modalities for patients with acute renal failure in the intensive care unit. Because both intermittent and continuous renal replacement techniques have several disadvantages, alternative treatment strategies have been developed. This review summarizes relevant information on these new hybrid techniques, and special attention is paid to the use of a single-pass batch dialysis system in the intensive care unit. RECENT FINDINGS: Prospective controlled studies have been published from several centers that use standard dialysis equipment for hybrid techniques, called sustained low-efficiency dialysis or slow extended dialysis. Their common therapeutic aim is to provide an easy-to-perform treatment with reduced solute clearances maintained for prolonged periods of time. These studies have documented that sustained low-efficiency dialysis offers (1) solute removal that is comparable with that obtained with intermittent hemodialysis and continuous veno-venous hemofiltration, even if high substitution fluid rates are used, (2) cardiovascular tolerability like that observed with continuous veno-venous hemofiltration, (3) significantly reduced heparin use in comparison with continuous veno-venous hemofiltration, (4) simple handling and high acceptance by the intensive care unit staff, (5) reduced treatment costs, and (6) the possibility of nocturnal treatments, allowing unrestricted patient access for daytime procedures. SUMMARY: Sustained low-efficiency dialysis is increasingly being used as renal replacement therapy in critically ill patients in the intensive care unit. It combines several advantages of both intermittent and continuous techniques. The procedural simplicity, particularly if single-pass batch dialysis is used, makes it an ideal treatment for patients with renal failure in the intensive care unit.