Abstract
Hemofiltration, performed with a high filtrate volume, produced excellent clinical results. HF with a frequency of 3 times a week and a filtrate volume of 0.5l/kg body weight per treatment yielded superior clinical results as compared with hemodialysis with a 1m2 (approx.) dialyaer in the current standard program of 3 treatments a week and 5 hr per treatment. According to our data, the elimination rate for substances of middle molecular weight is also clearly higher.
However, HF has a problem related to the large volume of substitution fluid required. With the thought that the reuse of the filtrate after purification with a reverse osmosis membrane should make it possible to provide a HT unit that is more compact and portable and permits continuous fluid substitution, we have constructed a prototype experimental unit and investigated its various characteristics. The results of the investigation are encouraging enough to promise the implementation of a portable clinical HF unit in near future.
