Modern hemodialysis requires repeated reliable access to blood vessels capable of providing rapid extracorporeal blood flow. This necessity for reliable access to the circulation is the Achilles’ heel of modem hemodialysis. Native and synthetic arteriovenous fistulas remain the preferred method of maintaining long-term hemodialysis access. Vascular access dysfunctions (thrombosis and infection)...

BACKGROUND Accidents that occur during dialysis treatment are notified to the medical staff via alarms raised by the dialysis apparatus. Similar to such real accidents, apparatus activation or accidents can be reproduced by simulating a treatment situation. An alarm that corresponds to such accidents can be utilized in the simulation model. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to create an ex...

The prevention of extracorporeal clotting during hemodialysis maximizes the effectiveness of treatment by maintaining patency in the dialyzer blood compartment and thereby obviating several important consequences. For example, clotting leads directly to blood loss, as much as 200-300 ml for each episode, depending on the total volume of the extracorporeal circuit. In addition, clotting reduces ...

BACKGROUND To evaluate the advantages and benefits of a minimized extracorporeal circulation system in the performance of coronary artery bypass grafts. METHODS From September 2000 to February 2003, 279 consecutive patients underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting with minimal extracorporeal circulation. A group of 243 patients at good risk as defined by a Euro- SCORE of 3 underwent...

OBJECTIVE Coronary artery bypass grafting with cardiopulmonary bypass carries a risk for neurologic complications because of cerebral hypoperfusion and microembolization. The basic goals of a novel closed minimized extracorporeal circulation are to prevent excessive hemodilution and to avoid blood-air interface. The aim of this prospective randomized study was to determine the effect of using t...

Extracorporeal removal of drugs and other poisons is occasionally indicated in the management of intoxications. The available modalities include hemodialysis and several methods of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), including continuous venovenous hemofiltration with or without dialysis augmenting drug removal. A growing literature promoting CRRT for extracorporeal removal has been pu...