Children receiving chronic haemodialysis are typically treated with dialysis machines designed for adult patients. As a result, some devices do not allow the ideal blood or dialysate flow rates to be set for paediatric use. In addition, the optimal dialysate-to-blood flow ratio for maximising solute removal while minimising water consumption remains poorly defined.
The aim of this study is to quantify the dialyser extraction ratio and clearance across different dialysis modalities and a range of dialysate-to-blood flow ratios. Blood and dialysate samples are collected at the blood inlet, blood outlet, and dialysate outlet lines, and concentrations of various uraemic toxins-spanning a range of molecular weights-are measured to calculate solute clearances.