Simultaneous hemofiltration/hemodialysis: an effective alternative to hemofiltration and conventional hemodialysis in the treatment of uremic patients.

Hemofiltration and hemodialysis were performed simultaneously with the Polyacrylnitrile membrane in a single pass dialyzate flow system. Due to the combination of convective mass transfer and diffusion, the clearances of both small and large molecules were significantly higher than during hemofiltration or hemodialysis alone. The removal of excess water was better tolerated than during hemodialysis. Six patients have been treated by this technique for 6 months 3 X 3 hr/week without side effects, and the new procedure appears to be the method of choice to shorten dialysis time.