Prescriptions of dialysate potassium concentration during short daily or long nocturnal (high dose) hemodialysis

Acid-base kinetics during hemodialysis using bicarbonate and lactate as dialysate buffer bases based on the H+ mobilization model

BACKGROUND

The H⁺ mobilization model has been recently reported to accurately describe intradialytic kinetics of plasma bicarbonate concentration; however, the ability of this model to predict changing bicarbonate kinetics after altering the hemodialysis treatment prescription is unclear.

METHODS

We considered the H⁺ mobilization model as a pseudo-one-compartment model and showed theoretically that it can be used to determine the acid generation (or production) rate for hemodialysis patients at steady state. It was then demonstrated how changes in predialytic, intradialytic, and immediate postdialytic plasma bicarbonate (or total carbon dioxide) concentrations can be calculated after altering the hemodialysis treatment prescription.

RESULTS

Example calculations showed that the H⁺ mobilization model when considered as a pseudo-one-compartment model predicted increases or decreases in plasma total carbon dioxide concentrations throughout the entire treatment when the dialysate bicarbonate concentration is increased or decreased, respectively, during conventional thrice weekly hemodialysis treatments. It was further shown that this model allowed prediction of the change in plasma total carbon dioxide concentration after transfer of patients from conventional thrice weekly to daily hemodialysis using both bicarbonate and lactate as dialysate buffer bases.

CONCLUSION

The H⁺ mobilization model can predict changes in plasma bicarbonate or total carbon dioxide concentration during hemodialysis after altering the hemodialysis treatment prescription.

Effect of dialysate potassium and lactate on serum potassium and bicarbonate concentrations during daily hemodialysis at low dialysate flow rates

Background

Observational studies of hemodialysis patients treated thrice weekly have shown that serum and dialysate potassium and bicarbonate concentrations are associated with patient outcomes. The effect of more frequent hemodialysis on serum potassium and bicarbonate concentrations has rarely been studied, especially for treatments at low dialysate flow rate.

Methods

These post-hoc analyses evaluated data from patients who transferred from in-center hemodialysis (HD) to daily HD at low dialysate flow rates during the FREEDOM Study. The primary outcomes were the change in predialysis serum potassium and bicarbonate concentrations after transfer from in-center HD (mean during the last 3 months) to daily HD (mean during the first 3 months).

Results

After transfer from in-center HD to daily HD (data from 345 patients, 51 ± 15 years of age, mean ± standard deviation), predialysis serum potassium decreased (P < 0.001) by approximately 0.4 mEq/L when dialysate potassium concentration during daily HD was 1 mEq/L; no change occurred when dialysate potassium concentration during daily HD was 2 mEq/L. After transfer from in-center HD to daily HD (data from 284 patients, 51 ± 15 years of age), predialysis serum bicarbonate concentration decreased (P = 0.0022) by 1.0 ± 3.3 mEq/L when dialysate lactate concentration was 40 mEq/L but increased (P < 0.001) by 2.5 ± 3.5 mEq/L when dialysate lactate concentration was 45 mEq/L. These relationships were dependent on serum potassium and bicarbonate concentrations during in-center HD.

Conclusions

Control of serum potassium and bicarbonate concentrations during daily HD at low dialysate flow rates is readily achievable; the choice of dialysate potassium and lactate concentration can be informed when transfer is from in-center HD to daily HD.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12882-019-1450-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Dialysate potassium concentration: Should mass balance trump electrophysiology?

Nephrologists are faced with a difficult dilemma in choosing the ideal dialysis prescription to maintain neutral potassium mass balance. Should potassium mass balance goals prioritize the normalization of serum potassium levels using low potassium dialysate at the expense of provoking intradialytic arrhythmias, or should mass balance goals favor permissive hyperkalemia using higher dialysate potassium to avoid rapid intradialytic fluxes at the risk of more interdialytic arrhythmias? This review examines the factors that determine potassium mass balance among HD patients, the relationships between serum and dialysate potassium levels and outcomes, and concludes by examining currently available approaches to reducing risk of arrhythmias while managing potassium mass balance.

Dialysate Potassium, Dialysate Magnesium, and Hemodialysis Risk

One of the fundamental goals of the hemodialysis prescription is to maintain serum potassium levels within a narrow normal range during both the intradialytic and interdialytic intervals. Considering the extraordinarily high rate of cardiovascular mortality in the hemodialysis population, clinicians are obligated to explore whether factors related to dialytic potassium removal can be modified to improve clinical outcomes. Observational studies and circumstantial evidence suggest that extreme concentrations of serum and dialysate potassium can trigger cardiac arrest. In this review, we provide an overview of factors affecting overall potassium balance and factors modulating potassium dialysate fluxes in dialysis, and we review data linking serum and dialysate potassium concentrations with arrhythmias, cardiovascular events, and mortality. We explore potential interactions between serum and dialysate magnesium levels and risks associated with dialysate potassium levels. Finally, we conclude with proposed dialytic and novel nondialytic approaches to optimize outcomes related to potassium homeostasis in patients on hemodialysis. Dialysis clinicians need to consider changes in the overall clinical scenario when choosing dialysate potassium concentrations, and an effective change in practice will require more frequent serum potassium monitoring and responsive dialysis care teams.

Potassium kinetics during hemodialysis

Hyperkalemia in hemodialysis patients is associated with high mortality, but prescription of low dialysate potassium concentrations to decrease serum potassium levels is associated with a high incidence of sudden cardiac arrest or sudden death. Improved clinical outcomes for these patients may be possible if rapid and substantial intradialysis decreases in serum potassium concentration can be avoided while maintaining adequate potassium removal. Data from kinetic modeling sessions during the HEMO Study of the dependence of serum potassium concentration on time during hemodialysis treatments and 30 minutes postdialysis were evaluated using a pseudo one-compartment model. Kinetic estimates of potassium mobilization clearance (K(M)) and predialysis central distribution volume (V(pre)) were determined in 551 hemodialysis patients. The studied patients were 58.8 ± 14.4 years of age with predialysis body weight of 72.1 ± 15.1 kg; 306 (55.4%) of the patients were female and 337 (61.2%) were black. K(M) and V(pre) for all patients were non-normally distributed with values of 158 (111, 235) (median [interquartile range]) mL/min and 15.6 (11.4, 22.8) L, respectively. K(M) was independent of dialysate potassium concentration (P > 0.2), but V(pre) was lower at higher dialysate potassium concentration (R = -0.188, P < 0.001). For patients with dialysate potassium concentration between 1.6 and 2.5 mEq/L (N = 437), multiple linear regression of K(M) and V(pre) demonstrated positive association with predialysis body weight and negative association with predialysis serum potassium concentration. Potassium kinetics during hemodialysis can be described using a pseudo one-compartment model.