ASSESSMENT OF DIALYSIS ADEQUACY USING THE DIALYSATE UREA MONITOR - PRELIMINARY EXPERIENCE OF THE DIALYSATE UREA MONITOR

Numerous studies have identified a strong linkage between the delivere d dialysis dose (Kt/V) and the survival of hemodialysis (HD) patients. However the current method used to calculate Kt/V requires multiple b lood samples and the process is complex and time consuming. We evaluat e the performance of a recently developed on-line monitor (Biostat 100 0 dialysate urea monitor Baxter) that measures the urea concentration in the effluent dialysate and displays Kt/V and nPCR immediately after hemodialysis. To verify the performance of the urea monitor we select ed 21 hemodialysis patients, calculated their Kt/V and nPCR values fro m blood samples obtained during each hemodialysis, and compared the re sults with data obtained using the urea monitor The Kt/V and nPCR valu es calculated by the urea monitor were both significantly correlated w ith those obtained using blood samples (R = 0.804, p < 0.001 in Kt/V a nd R = 0.749, p < 0.001 in nPCR). Our results suggest that the urea mo nitor may be used for on-line assessment of dialysis adequacy and obvi ates the need for blood sampling.