No abstract

A novel hollow-fiber dialysis membrane was developed that allows greater convective solute transport from blood to dialysate than from dialysate to blood.

The advent of high-flux dialyzers introduced the phenomenon of backfiltration as a regular occurrence in hemodialysis. Methods for calculating an estimate of backfiltration are described in detail, including an examination of the response of backfiltration to changes in applied pressure. A simple expression for the prediction of backfiltration as a function of net ultrafiltration is presented. Methods for estimating backfiltration have been published previously, but were based on incorrect assumptions; the errors present in those papers are highlighted and discussed here.