Does Intradialytic Exercise Improve Removal of Solutes by Hemodialysis? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

To describe a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify if intradialytic exercise improves the removal of solutes and the hemodialysis adequacy.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were performed. The sources were MEDLINE (via PubMed), Web of Science, LILACS, and SciELO, from inception until July 2018.

Clinical trials including patients on chronic hemodialysis submitted to the intervention of aerobic intradialytic exercise.

Evaluating as outcomes the removal of solutes (creatinine, phosphate, potassium) and/or adequacy parameters (Kt/V-urea).

The systematic review included 23 studies (7 evaluating the effect of 1 exercise session and 16 evaluating the effect of training, lasting from 6 to 25 weeks). Eleven RCT were included in the meta-analyses. It was observed that the aerobic intradialytic exercise increased the Kt/V-urea (0.15; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.08-0.21) and decreased creatinine (-1.82 mg/dL; 95% CI, -2.50 to -1.13), despite the high heterogeneity of the analysis. No differences were found in phosphorus and potassium removal.

The aerobic intradialytic exercise may be suggested to improve the Kt/V-urea and the creatinine removal during the dialysis.