Measurement of backfiltration rates during hemodialysis with highly permeable membranes

A method for determining local transmembrane fluid movement in a commercial hemodialyzer at low dialysate flow rates by measuring changes along the dialyzer length in the local concentration of a marker macromolecule added to the dialysis solution has been developed. The method was evaluated in vitro at zero net ultrafiltration using dialyzers containing polysulfone (n = 4) and cuprophane (n = 3) membranes. The local concentration of the marker macromolecule along the dialyzer length was higher than the input dialysate concentration only during experiments with dialyzers containing polysulfone membranes. These observations provide direct empirical evidence that fluid movement in the dialysate to blood direction, i.e., backfiltration, occurs during hemodialysis with this highly permeable membrane. Net rates of backfiltration for the dialyzer containing polysulfone membrane were also calculated from changes in the local concentration of the marker macromolecule and mass balance considerations. The calculated backfiltration rates increased with increasing blood flow rate and trended upward with increasing dialysate flow rate. The described methodology provides a novel approach for the further characterization of fluid and solute transport during hemodialysis with highly permeable membranes.