Washington—A technique that removes additional toxins during dialysis does not improve kidney failure patients’ survival or heart health, but intense treatments may provide a benefit, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). he findings suggest that the potential of the technique, called hemodiafiltration, deserves more study.

Kidney failure patients on dialysis have a high risk of developing heart problems and dying from heart disease. Retention of certain toxins may play a role because during conventional hemodialysis, smaller substances are removed while larger toxins can accumulate in the body. A technique called hemodiafiltration, which allows for accelerated blood flow during dialysis, may help get rid of some of these toxins.

Peter Blankestijn, MD, PhD (University Medical Center Utrecht, in the Netherlands) and his colleagues looked to see if hemodiafiltration improves patients’ survival and heart health compared with standard hemodialysis. Of 714 dialysis patients in the study, 358 received hemodiafiltration and 356 continued hemodialysis.

“This is the largest randomized clinical trial comparing standard hemodialysis versus hemodiafiltration on meaningful clinical endpoints,” said Blankestijn.

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