Intensifying renal replacement therapy during pregnancy: the role for nocturnal home hemodialysis

Kelly L Craig1, Tiina Podymow, Robert P Pauly

  • 1Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology and Transplantation Immunology, University of Alberta, 11-107 Clinical Sciences Building, 8440, 112th Street, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G3, Canada.

Fertility among women receiving conventional hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis is very low. For those able to conceive it appears that infant survival is poor, and prematurity and its related complications are still commonplace. Nocturnal hemodialysis (NHD) is a form of intensive, self-administered hemodialysis whereby patients receive 3-4 times the duration of conventional hemodialysis resulting in superior removal of uremic toxins compared to traditional dialysis modalities. NHD has been associated with increased fertility, infants with higher birth weights born at more advanced gestational ages, and fewer maternal and fetal complications. These encouraging results suggest a greater role for much more intensive dialysis in pregnancy.

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