Sabry et al., J Nephrol Therapeutic 2011, 1:3
DOI: 10.4172/2161-0959.1000108
Volume 1 • Issue 3 • 1000108
J Nephrol Therapeutic
ISSN: 2161-0959 JNT, an open access journal
Open Access Case Report
Hemodialysis Adequacy: A Comparative Multicenter Study Between OCM
and Calculated Kt/V from Two Centers in the Gulf
Alaa A Sabry
1
*, Khalid Alsaran
2
, Ahmd Yehia
2
, Eid M El-Shafey
3
and Anas Al-Yousef
4
1
Nephrology Division, Urology & Nephrology Center, Mansoura University, Mansoura university, Egypt
2
Prince Salman Center for Kidney Diseases, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
3
Internal Medicine Department, Faculty Of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt
4
Nephrology Division, Internal Medicine Department, Jahra Hospital, Kuwait
Abstract
Introduction: Adequate delivered dose of solute removal (as assessed by urea reduction and calculation of Kt/V) is
an important determinant of clinical outcome in chronic haemodialysis (HD) patients. This requires both prescription of
an adequate dose of HD and regular assessment that the delivered treatments are also adequate. On line conductivity
monitoring Kt/V OCM online clearance measurement (OCM) (OCM) -using sodium fux as a surrogate for urea- allows
the repeated non-invasive measurement of Kt/V on each HD treatment.
Methods: We prospectively studied 131 (63 males, 68 females) established chronic HD patients over 8 weeks
period (1048 treatments). A pre and post dialyzer measurement of the conductivity is performed by two mutually
independent temperature-compensated conductivity cells equipped with Fresenius 4008 S
®
dialysis machines. Urea
reduction was measured (once a week) by a single pool calculation using immediate post treatment sampling. No
changes were made to any of the dialysis prescriptions over the study period. Values of calculated Kt/V (conventional
method with Daugirdas’ formula) Kt/V Dau and simultaneously obtained online Kt/V OCM were compared.
Results: There was a statistically signifcant difference between calculated Kt/V DAU and Kt/V OCM over the
study period. The mean calculated Kt/V DAU was 1.459 ± 0.31, and mean OCM was 1.139 ± 0.14 (p = 0.000), yet there
was moderate correlation between calculated Kt/V DAU and Kt/V OCM (r
2
= 0.59) (p = 0.000) (Figure 1).
Conclusions: Online clearance measurement (OCM) results underestimates dialysis effciency compared to cal-
culated Kt/V DAU values. This difference has to be considered when applying Kt/V OCM to clinical practice (Figure 2).
*Corresponding author: Alaa Sabry, Assistant Professor of Nephrology, Mansoura
Urology and Nephrology Center, Mansoura University, Egypt, Tel: 002-050-252-
4024; Fax: 002-050-226-3717; E-mail: asabry2040@yahoo.com
Received August 08, 2011; Accepted December 16, 2011; Published December
18, 2011
Citation: Sabry AA, Alsaran K, Yehia A, El-Shafey EM, Al-Yousef A (2011)
Hemodialysis Adequacy: A Comparative Multicenter Study Between OCM and
Calculated Kt/V from Two Centers in the Gulf. J Nephrol Therapeutic 1:108.
doi:10.4172/2161-0959.1000108
Copyright: © 2011 Sabry AA, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and
source are credited.
Keywords: Kt/V; Hemodialysis; Online clearance monitoring
Introduction
Quantifcation of the dialysis dose is an essential element in the
management of chronic haemodialysis treatment because the adequacy
of the dose has a profound efect on patient morbidity and mortality
[1]. Te most useful and widely applied index to prescribe the dialysis
dose (as well as to assess the dose which is actually delivered) is the
Kt/V DAU formula [1]. It is now well recognized that an adequate
delivery of haemodialysis (HD) dose (as measured by Kt/V derived
from urea reduction) is a crucial determinant in clinical outcome of
chronic HD patients [2]. Tis requires both prescription of an adequate
dose of HD and regular assessment that the delivered treatments are
also adequate [3].
Te greatest problem we are facing at the moment is to check
whether the prescribed dialysis dose has actually been delivered. Tere
is ofen a diference, sometimes large, between the prescribed and
delivered dose [4].
Tere are many reasons why a discrepancy between calculated
and delivered dose of extra-corporeal blood purifcation might
exist. Failure of staf to ensure the pre-determined treatment time is
given (usually in the face of variable patient resistance) is a common
failing. However, other factors such as suboptimal needle placement,
haemodynamic instability and progressive access malfunction all
militate against this optimal delivery [5]. Bed-side Kt/V is currently
determined using various kinetic models; the most widely used being
the single-pool variable volume urea kinetic model (SPVV- UKM) [6].
Te European Best Practice Guidelines recommended as minimum
treatment dose an equilibrated Kt/V = 1.2 [7], but in clinical practice
this value cannot be achieved for every patient [8]. According to the
guidelines, dialysis dose should be measured using a validated method
[7]. Apart from blood sample-based methods, alternative methods
determining dialysis dose have been developed, mostly based on
measurements of conductivity [9] or of urea [10], recently also of
ultraviolet absorbance in the spent dialysate [11].
On-line clearance monitors measure the diference in conductivity
between the dialysate entering and leaving the dialyser with two
diferent dialysate inlet electrolyte concentrations [12].
On-line clearance monitoring (OCM) allows dialysis dose to be
monitored at every treatment with virtually no additional overheads.
While it is unlikely that these non-invasive measurements of Kt/V will
replace routine blood sampling, OCM afords staf the opportunity to
monitor unstable patients more efectively, identify problems quickly
and assess the efect of remedial actions.
Recently, advances in the on-line monitoring of conductivity
during HD sessions have made the repeated measurement of Kt/V
OCM on all HD treatment sessions a practical proposition [13]. Tis
method has been shown to have an excellent correlation with Kt/V
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ISSN: 2161-0959
Journal of Nephrology & Therapeutics