Acetate-free biofiltration reduces intradialytic hypotension: a European multicenter randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Intradialytic hypotension (IH) is a common complication of bicarbonate hemodialysis (BD) and contributes to the intolerance of dialysis and the high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality among dialysis patients, the risk of which can be contained by convective therapies. AIMS/METHODS To assess whether acetate-free biofiltration (AFB), a hemodiafiltration technique found to improve intradialytic cardiovascular stability in short-term studies, can influence long-term IH rates, predialysis systolic blood pressure (SBP), cardiovascular morbidity and mortality by comparison with BD, we analyzed data from a randomized controlled trial enrolling 371 new-to-dialysis patients, 194 on BD and 177 on AFB. RESULTS During a 3-year follow-up, AFB carried a significantly lower risk of IH (incidence rate ratio 0.60 (95% CI 0.53-0.68), p < 0.0001). SBP dropped on AFB (p = 0.01), while it did not change on BD. Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality were similar between AFB and BD. CONCLUSION AFB carries a lower long-term IH rate and reduces SBP by comparison with BD.