Abstract
Background: Intradialytic morbid events (IMEs) during haemodialysis (HD), including symptomatic hypotension, are related to ultrafiltration (UF)-induced hypovolaemia. Blood volume monitoring and automatic feedback control of the UF rate were developed to limit the extent of hypovolaemia during dialysis.
The present study investigated the effect of blood volume (BV)-controlled UF on the incidence of HD treatments with IMEs. Methods: This prospective randomised crossover study included hypotension-prone patients, characterised by occurrence of IMEs in at least 33% of HD treatments during a 6-week screening phase.
These patients underwent 2 treatment phases, each lasting 6 weeks, in randomised order. Each patient served as their own control, treated with standard HD in one phase and with BV-controlled UF in the other phase.