Beyond Net Ultrafiltration Rate: A Precision Fluid Management Paradigm Integrating Three Key Parameters for Pediatric...

Fluid management in critically ill children receiving continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) is challenging due to limitations of conventional metrics. Net ultrafiltration rate (NUFR, mL/kg/hr) lacks pediatric specificity, whereas net fluid balance (NFB, mL/kg) is confounded by ongoing fluid inputs.

To introduce and validate fluid overload clearance percentage (FOCP, %)-a novel metric expressing NFB as a proportion of initial fluid overload-and to establish a tri-parameter framework integrating NUFR, NFB, and FOCP for precision fluid management.

Single-center retrospective cohort study in a tertiary PICU. All children receiving CRRT between 2012 and 2023 with greater than or equal to 24 hours of therapy were included (N = 432).

First 24-hour NUFR, NFB, and FOCP were analyzed. To illustrate the relationship between prescription intensity and achieved fluid removal, these parameters were compared between survivors and nonsurvivors. Subsequently, to identify physiologic determinants independent of mortality, survivors were stratified by body weight, baseline fluid overload (FO), and capillary leak index.

Nonsurvivors received higher NUFR (median 4.8 mL/kg/hr [interquartile range 2.9-7.7] vs. 3.2 mL/kg/hr [1.6-5.6], p < 0.001) yet achieved comparable NFB (-22.6 mL/kg [-56.9 to 12.0] vs. -18.6 mL/kg [-48.2 to 2.3], p = 0.849) and FOCP (-41.0% [-102.7 to 21.9] vs. -44.2% [-128.1 to 17.3], p = 0.350). Body weight was the dominant determinant of NUFR (r = -0.548, p < 0.001). In contrast, FOCP demonstrated no significant correlation with illness severity (Pediatric Risk of Mortality-III, r = -0.012, p = 0.808) or baseline FO (r = -0.067, p = 0.165), and only a weak correlation with body weight (r = 0.279, p < 0.001).

We propose a tri-parameter precision management framework: NUFR serves as the weight-adjusted prescription parameter, NFB as the systemic safety outcome, and FOCP as the individualized clearance target. This integrated approach enables goal-directed therapy tailored to each patient's physiology in pediatric CRRT.