ULTRAFILTRATION AND CLEARANCE STUDIES IN HUMAN ISOLATED PERITONEAL VASCULAR LOOPS

Eight samples of human peritoneal tissue were obtained from patients u ndergoing hemicholectomy for cancer. An artery and a vein were cannula ted and perfused with blood in vitro with a special circuit able to pr ovide different perfusion pressures. Ultrafiltration and clearance stu dies were performed in these samples. Both ultrafiltration and small-s olute clearances linearly correlated with the blood flow, demonstratin g a strong dependence on this parameter. The peritoneal capillary show ed a typical filtration pressure equilibrium with a constant filtratio n fraction at different blood flows. The results suggest that the bloo d flow may be a factor limiting the efficiency of peritoneal dialysis both in terms of mass transfer coefficients and maximal ultrafiltratio n rates.