Monitoring the microbial purity of the treated water and dialysate

Dialysate purity has become a major concern in recent years since it has been proven that contamination of dialysate is able to induce the production of proinflammatory cytokines, putatively implicated in the development of dialysis related pathology. In order to reduce this risk, it is advised to use ultrapure dialysate as a new standard of dialysate purity. Ultrapure dialysate preparation may be easily achieved with modern water treatment technologies. The reliable production of ultrapure dialysate requires several prerequisites: use of ultrapure water, use of clean electrolytic concentrates, implementation of ultrafilters in the dialysate pathway to ensure cold sterilization of the fresh dialysate. The regular supply with such high-grade purity dialysate relies on predefined microbiological monitoring of the chain using adequate and sensitive methods, and hygienic handling including frequent disinfection to reduce the level of contamination and to prevent biofilm formation. Reliability of this process requires compliance with a very strict quality assurance process. In this paper, we summarized the principles of the dialysate purity monitoring and the criteria used for surveillance in order to establish good antimicrobial practices in dialysis.