Assessment of microcirculatory function during hemodialysis

Patients with chronic kidney disease characteristically exhibit microcirculatory dysfunction, in combination with vascular damage. Hemodialysis superimposes additional circulatory stress to the microvasculature (repetitive ischemic insults/cumulative damage) resulting in high mortality. Intradialytic monitoring and hemodialysis delivery is currently limited to macrovascular/systemic assessment and detection of intradialytic systemic hypotension. Monitoring of the microcirculation has the potential to provide valuable information on hemodialysis-induced circulatory stress likely to result in end-organ ischemia (with/without systemic hypotension) generating an opportunity to intervene before tissue injury occurs.

Various noninvasive technologies have been used assessing the microcirculation in hemodialysis patients at rest. Some technologies have also been applied during hemodialysis studying the effects of treatment on the microcirculation. Despite the approach used, results are consistent. Hemodialysis patients have impaired microcirculations with treatment adding additional stress to inadequately regulated vascular beds. Utility/practicality/clinical relevance vary significantly between methodologies.

Intradialytic monitoring of the microcirculation can provide additional insights into a patient's individual response to treatment. However, this valuable perspective has not been adopted into clinical practice. A microcirculatory view could provide a window of opportunity to enable a precision medicine approach to treatment delivery improving current woefully poor subjective and objective clinical outcomes.