Abstract
Once hemodialysis therapy is initiated, urine output decreases abruptly, resulting inevitably in anuria. However, there are great individual differences in the occurrence of this phenomenon.
Maintaining urine output has a positive influence not only on the psychological status of dialysis patients but also on the serum β2-microglobulin (β2-MG) level: patients with urine output of more than 200ml/day showed statistically significantly lower serum β2-MG than those with less urine output. The change in urine output in 95 hemodialysis cases was retrospectively (5-10 years) analyzed. The patients with urine output of more than 500ml/day decreased remarkably in number once the duration of hemodialysis exceeded 6 years, while urine output was around 100ml/day in all cases whose duration of dialysis exceeded 7 years. Sudden decreases in urine output were more marked in cases who had been extremely overhydrated and had eventually required massive removal of water at the initiation of dialysis therapy. Patients not overhydrated in the initiation period who maintained appropriate weight controls after therapy showed a tendency to maintain urine output longer.
The mode of dialysis therapy clearly influenced urine output: CAPD cases maintained urine output significantly longer than hemodialysis cases, probably because the removal of solutes and water is more gradual and continuous in CAPD than in hemodialysis.
