Sustained low-efficiency dialysis (SLED) has been used for acute renal replacement therapy [1]. It has not been evaluated in the management of salicylate toxicity or the toxicity of any agent, however. We present a case of severe salicylate toxicity initially managed with haemodialysis and then with SLED. The efficacy of SLED is compared with that found in the literature for haemodialysis and continuous therapies.
CaseThe patient was a 24-year-old male evaluated at a referring hospital 14 h after the ingestion of one hundred 325 mg salicylate pills (32 500 mg total dose). The serum salicylate concentration at that time was 110 mg/dl. He was transferred to our institution for dialysis.On arrival he had been treated with intravenous bicarbonate and oral charcoal. He was afebrile with a pulse of 145 b.p.m., blood pressure was 98/62 mmHg and respirations were 35/min. He was alert and oriented but anxious, tremulous and diaphoretic. ECG demonstrated sinus tachycardia and chest X-ray was normal. Blood gases were determined at presentation with pH 7.44, pCO 2 20 mmHg, and PO 2 86 mmHg. Pertinent laboratory data included: haemoglobin 17.3 g/dl, sodium 136 mmol/l, potassium 4.9 mmol/l, chloride 94 mmol/l, bicarbonate 13 mmol/l, anion gap 29 mmol/l, BUN 35 mg/dl, creatinine 2.9 mg/dl, glucose 161 mg/dl, calcium 11.1 mg/dl, phosphorus 9.9 mg/dl and INR 2.2.