Measurement of vascular access recirculation without contralateral venous puncture

The rate of recirculation is an important variable in calculating the correct dose of dialysis delivered to a patient. Traditionally it is calculated using blood results obtained from the arterial and venous lines and from venous puncture of the opposite arm. To avoid this venipuncture, cessation of the blood pump for 1 or 2 min was attempted to mimic the systemic circulation. This technique underestimated recirculation but was statistically correlated with the result obtained by the classical method, thus it is possible to derive a formula to obtain the recirculation value without contralateral venipuncture.